Love Is Strong, but Family Is Stronger
by Radioactive88
Summary: What if Jack survived the tragic sinking of the Titanic, but Rose didn't know it? As he searched far and wide for the love of his life, she bore his twin daughters: Lucy and Alice Dawson. One day, the troublemaking twins go to school to discover a new art teacher: a certain Jack Dawson. Can they all be a family, or should that dream have sunk along with the Titanic?
1. Prologue

**A/N: HellooooOOOOOOooooo! We were meant to post this yesterday, so late happy Fanworks Day and of course, happy Presidents' Day! In the glory of this wonderful day, we've already published another story called "Always Broken, Forever Loved", a "The Originals" fanfiction, so you should check that out if you like that show. We couldn't help it . . . we had to write a "Titanic" fanfiction where Jack lived. And where Rose was pregnant with his children. We. Just. Couldn't. Help. It. It might be a bit overdone, but we wanted to do our own version anyway with seven-year-old Lucy and Alice Dawson. Without further ado, here is the prologue, and please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :) The first chapter should be up fairly soon.**

 **Prologue**

 _I'll never let go_ echoed through Rose's ears like the incessant chime of a church bell. _I'll never let go . . . I'll never let go . . . I'll never let go . . ._

Rose didn't realize how true that was until now, a couple months later. She was pregnant with his child. A seventeen-year-old girl carrying a dead man's baby.

She was all alone now, so very alone. Her mother thought she was dead, her father had died several years back, Cal was gone (and good riddance!), and the love of her life wasn't even around to father his own child.

"Oh God," she sobbed into her hands, curled up into a fetal position on the worn out bed of her shabby motel room she was renting. "I don't know what to do. . . . Jack, if you're listening, please don't make me do this alone. Please just . . . watch over our child."

It wasn't like she was expecting anything, but her heart still broke when there was no response. She really was going to have to do this alone, be a teenage single mother to a bastard child. And she didn't know if she could do it.

Months later . . .

"Come on, Rose, push! You're a tough girl, you have this in ya!" Margaret "Molly" Brown was by her side, stoically holding Rose's hand as the young redhead screamed out her agony.

"No, I don't, Molly, I don't!" Tears rolled down her cheeks and however much she loved Molly, she wished with every inch of her soul that it was Jack holding her hand instead.

"I see the head!" her doctor informed her and she gasped in relief. _Almost done_. "You're doing great, almost there . . . Shoulders, torso, legs . . ." A healthy shrieking filled the room and the doctor proudly lifted up her baby for Rose to see. "A beautiful baby girl."

Her lips spread into a blindingly bright smile. "Can I hold my baby?"

He shook his head gently and her heart wrenched in panic. Was something wrong with her baby? He clarified his reaction by explaining, "You'll have to wait until the second one's out." He then handed off the baby to the nurse as the gears shifted in Rose's head.

She just blinked at him. Did he just say . . . ? "SECOND? THERE'S A SECOND ONE? HOW COME NOBODY TOLD ME THIS?!"

"Calm down, Rose," Molly soothed, carefully taking Rose's daughter from the nurse into a protective hold. "You already have a strong, healthy baby girl and this only means you will have double the love."

Rose would have lashed out had her baby not been in Molly's arms. "You. Are. Such. An. _Optimist!"_ A contraction ripped apart her last word and she shouted out again.

"Okay, Rose, you're going to have to push again," the doctor warned her.

"I can't do it _again!"_ she wailed at the top of her lungs. "I'm so tired . . . _so tired_."

"You can do this," the nurse encouraged but the words fell on deaf ears. Gripping at the sheets as tightly as she could, she heaved out another push.

Just when she thought she would die if she had to go another round, a soft crying pierced the air and Rose's face melted into another smile. "Congratulations, you have another beautiful baby girl!"

Two daughters . . . Jack's daughters. Her eyes swam with tears of joy and grief- such intense happiness due to the arrival of her babies, but deep sadness that Jack wasn't around to meet their children. "Can I hold my daughters now?"

They were positioned in the each of her arms and she watched with glee as their tiny eyelids peeled open to reveal bright blue eyes . . . Jack's eyes. The younger twin had a fuzzy patch of flaming red hair, the same shade of Rose's locks, and the older twin had a head of golden blonde.

Of the two of them, the red-haired baby did share more resemblance to Rose while the blonde was unmistakably Jack's. It hurt her heart yet soothed her at the same time. These two were _their_ children, a product of their short but pure, undying love.

"They're gorgeous," Molly crooned, breaking Rose out of her own little world. "What are you going to name them?"

Rose thought about giving them names in reference to her time on the Titanic, but decided it to be too painful. This was her new life and she wanted her daughters to represent that.

"I think I'll name the little red-haired one Alissa. She's named after my grandmother, who wasn't the same evil that held my mother captive and I'll call her Alice for short. Alice . . . Faith. She will be the faith I need to give me the strength to be their mother and to move on from . . . Little Alice Faith Dawson." Alice gurgled in response and she grinned.

Molly nodded her approval. "And the other one?"

That one took her a little more time. She hadn't been expecting two babies, and she had chosen early on if she had a son, she'd name him Jack, and if she had a daughter, to name her Alissa. And the tiny red-haired baby just looked far more like an "Alice" than the blonde.

"Lucille," she finally said. "I had a great friend back in my younger days, interesting girl, who had such a free spirit that I'd always admired her. I don't know what became of her, but she had a big impact on my life. I aspired to be like her. So, I'm naming my daughter after her. Lucy. And for her middle name . . . Hope. She'll give me the hope to live out my future, and see the sun rise every single morning. Lucy Hope Dawson."

"Those names are perfect. They're perfect," Molly said and Rose nodded dreamily in agreement.

A part of her would always be broken from Jack's death, but she would keep living on, not only for him . . . but for their daughters.


	2. Double Trouble

**A/N: First off, everyone, hello and** ** _thanks so much for all the reads, favorites, follows, and reviews!_** **We were shocked to see how many we got when we only posted the prologue! And don't worry, that will be our shortest installment and this chapter is much longer. This takes place seven years after the prologue and is mainly about the girls getting in a lot of trouble on one fateful day of school. Next chapter, Jack will make his first appearance!**

 **Warning: There's mild corporeal punishment taking place at the school and we don't condone it, but since it's about 1920, we figured it was more socially acceptable at that time period.**

 **Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Chapter 1: Double Trouble**

 **Lucy's Perspective**

"I dare you to climb that tree!" the boy sneered at me, pointing at one of the tallest oaks on the block. A small but dense forest surrounded our neighborhood- it was nice shade from the sun during the summer, but it was winter now and I was freezing my seven-year-old butt off.

"Oh please, that's something a _three-year-old_ could do," I laughed, bringing a grimace to the boy's freckled face. Most boys weren't used to my sister Alice's and my daring side.

Alice stuck her tongue out at the group of neighborhood boys and turned to me with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "C'mon, let's show 'em how it's done!"

" _Let's_." Sticking out my arm for her to take, we skipped together to base of the tree and looked up. _Okay, that's taller than I thought._ It reached the _sky_.

"You afraid, Dawson girls? You chickens?" another boy crowed at us and I clenched my fists by my side until they turned icy white.

"Shut your trap, Mathews!" Alice growled, spinning her head around to glare at the older boy. He just continued to look rather smug at the two of us. _I'll show him_.

"I ain't no chicken!" I shouted at him, desperately trying to prove myself as I stuck my shoe into the lowest knot of the trunk I could find and hauled myself up. The branches were a good few yards up, so it took some scrambling to get up there.

Alice caught up to me rather quickly. She started on the other side of the tree trunk and I could tell she was having a hard time as well by her short, loud breaths.

Grinning at my own success, I made a leap of faith and latched onto the lowest branch, climbing my way onto it. "We did it, you losers!" I yelled down at crestfallen boys. Alice reached around the trunk to high-five me.

"What in the world are you two doing up there?" our mother yelled, appearing behind us out of nowhere. _Uh oh_. Gulping, I made eye contact with my sister and she rolled her eyes. The group of boys ran off like a fire was lit underneath the seat of their pants.

"Busted," Alice said, bummed out. Looking down, I could see Mom running up to the base of the tree and looking up at us, fear written across her pretty features.

"Alissa Faith, Lucille Hope, get down from there right now!" Mom cried, placing her fists on her hips. _Double uh oh._

"The full names are out, I repeat, the full names are out," I whimpered, hugging into the wood of the tree for support. When a bug wiggled its way into my hair, I screamed my lungs out and nearly toppled off the branch.

"Lucy, hold on!" my mom shrieked, looking around desperately for a way to help us. Her words had an opposite effect. The branch groaned and shuddered beneath my weight (and I was skinny and short, so that was one flimsy branch) and snapped with an ear-splitting _crack_.

Bellowing dramatically on the way down, I landed into a bush with a soft thud. Stunned, I could only croak, " _Ow_."

Mom rushed over to me and yanked me out by my armpits of the dirt and leaves and demanded, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I don't t-think so," I pouted, "but I'm gonna find that tree branch and kick its wimpy ass."

Her bright green eyes narrowed as Alice giggled. "Lucille, I don't want to ever hear that word out of your mouth again."

I smiled innocently and batted my eyelashes angelically. "Wimpy?"

She looked about ready to smack me upside the head, but she noticed something first. Gasping, Mom brushed the tangles of golden hair out of my face and gingerly dabbed at my cheek. "Ow, Mom!"

"You cut yourself pretty bad, baby," she cooed, and I rubbed at my cheek only to find blood all over my fingers. I nearly fainted right then and there- seeing my own blood scared the living daylights out of me, but I would never let anybody know that.

Before she could say anything else, Alice interrupted us by laughing hard enough ("You fell off the tree!") to fall off the tree herself and right onto her butt. Immediately, her eyes filled to the brim with tears and she started bawling, " _Mommy-y-y!"_

"Oh, baby, what hurts?" Mom asked, rushing to her side.

" _Mommy, it's my butt! I fell on my butt! It hurts real bad,"_ she sobbed. Mom pulled her off the ground and into her arms as she wailed.

Even though my cut stung real bad it didn't hurt enough to stop me from bursting out in laughter at Alice's reaction. _What a little crybaby_.

Sadly, that only made Alice cry harder so my mom stopped us, "Lucille, knock it off. Hold your your cut and when we get home and I will clean it."

I bit my lip to hold in my snickers and obediently pressed my palm against my bleeding face as Mom adjusted Alice in her arms.

We walked home to our small little blue house resting all alone at the end of the block, surrounded by the thick forest. Once we walked in, Mom gently lay Alice on the tiny couch and raced off to get supplies.

Sitting next to Alice I watched her roll onto her stomach and cry into the arm of the couch. My sister always was a tad dramatic. She didn't like getting hurt. _Really_ didn't like it.

"It's all your fault," Alice murmured into the couch cushions.

"You better be talking to your butt and not me," I warned her and she blindly lashed out to hit me. I jumped out of the way and she thought up a different solution.

"MOM! Lucy's being _mean_ to me!" My jaw dropped to the floor and right when I grabbed her by her curls of fiery red hair to show her I meant business, Mom entered the room. _Good timing, just great_.

Mom grabbed me by the arm and none too gently pulled me away from her. "Lucy, stop being mean to your sister! You're both in trouble so it would do you two good to keep your mouths shut."

"How am I in trouble? Lucy made me do it!" Alice grumbled, looking at our mom with her best pleading puppy-dog eyes.

"You slimy little weasel!" I yelled at her, making a violent lunge for her- Mom had to hold me back.

"Stop it, both of you," she ordered, guiding me over to the couch. She brought a towel to my cut and held it there for a minute. "It won't need stitches, but I'm gonna have to clean it and bandage it up."

"Aw, man!" She propped me up on a stool and applied burning medication to my cheek, which made me squirm and yelp, but not cry. I was tough as nails, I _never_ cried.

"Hey, I need medical attention!" Alice whined and Mom plopped a bag of ice down on her butt.

"Hush up now, baby, I have to concentrate on your sister's cut." She cut a strip of bandaging and spread it across my cut, smoothing it out with a little pat. "You're good to go."

"Yay!" I cheered, jumping down from the stool to make a run for it. Mom held me by the straps of my overalls and kept me in place.

"Not so fast, little girl." She led me over to the couch and sat me down next to a sniffling Alice. "I've told you both time and time again not to climb trees that high, so quite honestly, you two deserve this. I want you both to go to your room for the rest of the night and _stay there_. And _no_ dessert."

"NO! That's mean. Just plain _mean_ ," Alice complained as she stood up, still cradling the ice to her butt.

"Room, now," Mom ordered, in a 'Don't mess with me' tone _._ Not wanting the wrath of our mother we both huffed but followed her instructions.

"This isn't faaaaaaiiiiiiiiir," Alice moaned as she buried herself in our shared bed after we changed into night gowns and brushed our teeth.

"Stop being such a baby," I scolded, shoving her aside to make room for myself. "We deserve it. It was still worth it, though!"

"My butt doesn't think so."

" _Baby_."

"Shut up!" She threw out a fist that connected with my shoulder and I elbowed her hard in the side. We usually got along real well but sometimes she _really_ got on my nerves with her whining and complaining and tattling.

My sister was always one to throw me to the wolves when in actuality it was her who got us in trouble. What could I do, though? Most people believed her rather than me. She was the sweet and girly one.

"Girls, get ready for bed and go to sleep!" Mom shouted from the kitchen. Alice and I both groaned in response.

"But Moooom, it's only seven o'clock. We don't go to bed until eight," Alice complained. She moved to get up but it seemed her fall from the tree hurt quite a bit or she was really good at milking it because every movement looked painful.

"No buts. You girls don't listen and this is your consequence," she said, poking her head in the doorway.

"Isn't being hurt punishment enough?" I asked, attempting to get out of trouble.

Mom entered the room, letting her lush red curls loose from the messy bun holding them. "Nice try, sweetheart, but no." I just shrugged. I knew when to call in a loss.

As Alice and I snuggled beneath the covers, Mom sat on the very edge of the mattress and said softly, "You know how much I love you both, right? Even when I punish you or I'm disappointed in your actions, I will never _ever_ stop loving you. That's a promise."

I never felt safer than at that moment. "I know, Mom. I love you too."

"I love you, too," Alice piped up, finally giving up the martyr act. The last thing I saw before falling asleep were her beautiful green eyes, brimming with her affection and warmth for us.

"Girls, wake up. It's time for school. Get up," our mother shouted from presumably the kitchen into our bedroom, breaking me from my dream state.

Rolling to my back, I groaned, "I don't want to go."

"I second that," Alice whined, raising herself out of bed and rubbing her eyes. Her curly red hair was sticking out in all directions and her purple pajamas clung close to her chest.

"I thought you two liked school. What changed?" Mom asked, entering our room to, what my guess would be, pull us out of bed. It was always a challenging feat.

"When our favorite teacher left and we got stuck with Miss Grumpy Pants. All she does is yell at us for climbing and tell me I'm dumb," I grumbled, staring hard down at my sheets, so hard a hole could've burned into them. "Only 'cause I ain't too good at math."

"Yeah, she doesn't like us much," my sister added. She didn't like our teacher either. Our teacher picked on her because she couldn't leave the house without her favorite stuffed dolphin. She took it to school and according to our teacher "it was childish and unladylike." Well, if our teacher was a proper lady then I was a goldfish.

"Well, don't let her get you girls down. You are better people and it just shows that she isn't happy with her life if she has to pick on two innocent children." She kissed my forehead gently and picked me to put me on the floor. I had tough, thick skin, but there was only so much I could take and she knew that.

"Whatever you say, but I still think she is just a witch and plans to eat us after she fattens us up with candy," I giggled, leaving my sister and mother to themselves while I scurried into the bathroom to clean up. My mom just shook her head out of amusement.

A few minutes later, my mom and I were involved in our typical argument. I wanted to wear overalls to school, and she insisted on some ugly dress every single time because "those were the rules." Well, I wasn't one to listen to rules and that was one reason why Miss Grumpy Pants hated me too much.

"Mom, you know I hate pink. Pink shoulda never existed. It's like a princess puked all over this!" I held up the ghastly piece of fabric in disgust, like it had personally wronged me.

"Fine, you win," she grumbled, searching for another dress as I hopped around in my own little victory dance. She shoved a bright yellow dress into my arms, which I resigned to. I had a certain fondness for yellow, probably because of my golden blonde hair. " _Please_ wear this one."

Alice emerged from the bathroom in her favorite lavender dress- I disliked purple too, but it wasn't as horrendous as the dreaded _pink_. Her tangles of hair were done up into two rigid braids, but I wouldn't let Mom even touch my hair. My curls were to be _free_.

"You two have a good day at school!" she called as we exited the house, book bags slung over our shoulders and our bagged lunches in hand. We couldn't afford to buy lunch, so she fixed us up a variety of sandwiches every single day.

We waved back at her and were on our merry way. Mom didn't know this, but every single day, we walked through the forest for a shortcut to school. She wouldn't approve, something about dangerous people lurking about. _What a worrywart_ , I thought as I avoided a particularly muddy patch of dirt.

"I hope Miss Grumpy Pants doesn't take my dolphin away," Alice murmured after a few minutes of comfortable silence, hugging the stuffed toy to her chest.

I seethed at the mere thought of it. Ain't nobody picked on my sister like that except _me_. "I'll spit right in her eye!" My seven-year-old self didn't care much for consequences such as those.

Alice and I laughed all the way to school at the mere image of it. Boy, would that show Miss Grumpy Pants. Our classmates were all playing in our school's "little kid" playground, and Alice gravitated towards the swings as I started up a vigorous game of tag. I was even faster than Benny Williams, the alleged quickest kid in our entire class.

The bell rang just I was dodging him once more, and showing him no mercy. Not from me, no sir-ee. Alice and I grudgingly lined up in front of Miss Grumpy Pants' classroom, waiting for the witch herself to let us in and presumably eat us for breakfast.

She arrived on schedule and I scowled at the very sight of her. The woman wasn't even that old so she couldn't use crabbiness as an excuse, she just hated kids- or at the very least _me_. It was okay, though, 'cause I hated her even more.

And this day just _had_ to start off on a very poor note. The very first thing she did was notice Alice's dolphin and reached down to take it. "Alissa, now I told you not to bring that toy to school anymore, so I'm going to have to confiscate it. Stop being such a child. You're not getting this toy back until the end of this school year."

She was the heart of everything bad and evil in this world. I looked over in outrage to see my twin sister's eyes water up as Miss Grumpy Pants used her talons to snatch the toy from her. It broke my heart into two. Miss Grumpy Pants marched into the classroom and I barreled on after her.

Everyone else was taking their seats and Alice whispered desperately over to me, "Just let it go, Lucy, I'm okay. I'll be okay."

No, she wasn't okay. She was about to cry. That wasn't "okay" in my books. Nobody hurt my sister's feelings like that, not even demon teachers. So, I marched right up to Miss Grumpy Pants and gave her a piece of my mind. "Give my sister her dolphin back! She isn't doing anything wrong!"

A lot of adults would kneel to a child's level when speaking to them, but Miss Grumpy Pants was perfectly all right with using her superior height to intimidate me. But intimidated, I was not. I was Lucille Hope Dawson, and that meant I was _no_ wuss. So, I puffed out my little chest and awaited her defeat. Alas, I was not rewarded in such a way.

"Lucille, sit down and shut your little mouth. I am sick and tired of you defending your sister. She's a big girl, and she needs to learn to grow up. Sniveling little infants are no use to this world. Now sit down."

Sniveling little infant? _Sniveling little infant?!_ Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my sister sadly bury her head in her arms and everyone winced on her behalf. I stood my ground, swallowed my fear, and protested, "Not until you give my sister her dolphin back! You aren't being fair and I won't let you call my sister names!"

There was a collective gasp around the classroom and my classmates stared at me in awe. Nobody defied Miss Grumpy Pants like I did, even though we all hated her. _Now_ she crouched down to my level, and grabbed my wrist real tight. I squirmed and squirmed to break out of her grip, but her demonic super-strength was too much for me.

"You horrible little child! I've had enough of your sass. You're already too dumb to teach math to and too stupid for the second grade, and now you have the gall to talk back to your elders? That's crossing the line."

Miss Grumpy Pants reached over and picked up her shiny metal ruler, then wrapped me across the palm with the blasted thing. Seven times. The inside of my hand was a vibrant, cherry red and she painfully directed me into the nearest corner. "You're going to stand there for the rest of class." I was properly humiliated.

Alice could be a little shy, but she was no coward. So, on my behalf, she cried out, "Miss Stevenson, please don't make her stand in the corner all class, surely smacking her on the palm is more than enough-"

"Enough!" Miss Grumpy Pants shouted, losing the last bit of patience she had left. Which was practically nothing in the first place. "You Dawsons will be the _death_ of me! Alissa, stop being such a whiny brat and accept that you're not getting your silly toy back. Such a silly toy at school is only meant for silly, ridiculous little girls and you need to _grow up_ if you want to be of any use to our society at all!"

Dead silence. Everyone gaped at our dreadful teacher as big, monster tears streamed down my twin's face. I had _enough_. There was no damn way I was going to sit back and watch Miss Grumpy Pants belittle my sister and allow her to get away with it.

"Like you, Miss Stevenson?" I piped up ever so innocently from the corner, trembling with absolute fury. "Do you mean like you?"

She snapped her head back and glowered at me. "No talking from the corner, and turn back around. And . . . what do you mean, you naughty child?"

I did not turn back around and instead, stepped away from the stupid corner. "You want us to be useful to society like you? A mean, wretched teacher who yells at her students and takes toys away and makes little girls cry? Would you like us to follow your example, and be hated by everyone? Because you're so good at it, I wouldn't want to outshine you."

I simply stood and watched her face redden and redden until I was certain it would explode all over the room and splatter blood on her white, boring walls. It would be a step-up- she could stand to decorate a little more.

I glanced over and observed my sister grinning away, just like the rest of my classmates. I was proud of myself, at least until Miss Grumpy Pants strode over and slapped me across the face, whipping my head to the side and knocking me to the ground.

Everyone, and I mean _everyone_ gasped. Nobody was smiling now. Alice looked downright horrified. Miss Grumpy Pants had smacked me across the palm and backside many times before, but this was a whole new territory. I was in shock as she hauled me to the feet and scribbled a note for me to take. "Go to the principal's office NOW!"

I was a brave girl, but even I knew when to call in my loss and throw in the towel. Turning on my heel, I rushed from the classroom and practically ran to the principal's office, my hand and cheek still smarting something awful.

However angry and embarrassed I may have felt, I refused to allow myself to cry. Nope, no tears would be shed over the witch named Miss Grumpy Pants.

In the office, the secretaries were looking at me with something between sympathy and disapproval. I just furiously swung my legs and revelled when my shoes clanged against the legs of my chair and made obnoxious noises.

"Ah, Miss Dawson, what a pleasure it is to see you again," my principal boomed from his office, beckoning me in. Yeah, this wasn't my first rodeo. Miss Grumpy Pants _really_ didn't like me, and showed her distaste for me all year by sending me to the principal's office twice prior. And those two times I didn't even deserve it- this time I had to take _some_ responsibility.

He accepted my note from me, and shook his head regretfully after scanning it. "Well, Miss Dawson, you know the drill." He pulled out his favorite implement from his top desk drawer _._ Great, his awful paddle would be making an appearance. I was positively sure he was married to the object because he couldn't find a woman to put up with his fondness of smacking children. He had a real talent for it, I'd give him that. "Do you think you deserve this punishment, Miss Dawson? I don't typically give it to girls, but you _are_ a repeat offender, after all, so I feel it's justified."

I crinkled my brow and tilted my head to the side, questioning his intelligence. Why would he waste his breath and ask _me_ , the offender? I told him in all honesty, "I don't know why you would bother to ask me, sir, because you're going to punish me anyway."

Yep, that sealed my fate. His expression hardened and I just knew I was in for it. And, I was very much right- unfortunately.

I received five blows (none too light, either) on the seat of my dress by the terrible thing, and I forced myself with every fiber of my being not to cry after he landed the last smack. "You know you deserved this, Miss Dawson."

I didn't dare to speak because I couldn't trust myself not to break down. It stung like nothing else and I shakily stood up from where he had bent me over a chair. This was turning out to be a really godawful day. Maybe I was cursed. That would explain it.

My principal seemed displeased that I didn't burst into tears, which he probably expected, so he extended my punishment by giving me detention for the rest of the week. _I hate you, I hate you more, I hate you most,_ I sang in my mind.

He would make an excellent soul mate for Miss Grumpy Pants- true love, in fact. I would attend their wedding, but instead of tossing rice all over them, I'd throw rocks. Heavy, heavy rocks. Boulders, perhaps.

"I don't believe it would be a good idea to give you this detention with Miss Stevenson, considering how often you feel the need to disrespect her-"

"She disrespects _me_ ," I blurted out before I could stop myself and he eyed with a look that told me his paddle could be reawakened if need be.

"Anyway, before you so rudely interrupted me, I think I shall assign you detention with a different teacher." He searched through the scattered papers on his desk and evidently found a solution. "Ah, I've found just the one. He just started working here as an art teacher. This will be good to test his wills, see if he has it in him to be a teacher here. You will have detention with him for the rest of the week."

Before he finished his lengthy spiel, there was a gentle knock. "Who is it?" the principal asked through the closed door.

His assistant's head popped into the room. Her smile was sweet and genuine compared to the ones who were plotting my demise. Her soft voice said, "It looks like today you got a two for one special. Alissa Dawson is here to see you by demand of Ms. Stevenson." I cocked my head to the side curiously. What did Alice do to anger our beloved teacher?

The principal released an annoyed groan without meaning to and looked slightly embarrassed to have done it in front of his assistant. "Send her in please, Mrs. Brooks."

With only a nod she opened the door letting a sad looking Alice into the room. Her head was down, but in her small hands she snuggled her dolphin. She climbed into the chair next to mine, limiting eye contact, and sat quietly. I was in no state to sit down after my lovely principal's punishment, so I stood next to her chair.

"Sissy, are you okay?" I whispered, reaching to hold her hand. She had her dolphin back in her possession at the very least.

Before much more could be said, our principal straightened in his chair and asked dully, "What is it that you have done, Miss Dawson?"

"Um . . . I bit my teacher. Sorry?" she responded, sounding shameful, but I knew it was all an act.

I couldn't help but let out a small giggle. That was rich and well deserved to our dear teacher Miss Grumpy Pants. And by giggle, I mean burst out in laughter. It was easy enough for me to hold back tears, but laughter- uh uh. I was _done for_.

"I thought you were the good one, young Alice." _So nice of him to say,_ I thought resentfully. "The most trouble I have had with you is constantly signing your medical papers from falling off things all the time. Do you have any explanation that would allow me to limit your punishment?"

The poor girl looked _terrified_. I just wanted to take her in my arms and run so she wouldn't have to go through what I did. "She had yelled at Lucy and hit her and took my dolphin before that. I didn't know what was wrong, but I was really angry . . . I said a bad word, she washed my mouth out with soap and I couldn't breathe so I bit down. She says I attacked her, but I speak the truth. Please believe me, sir. _Please_." Her blue eyes swelled up to an enormous size.

He looked sad to have to punish her, but what choice did he have? Oh, I knew, _not punish her at all!_ "Sir, please. It isn't Alice's fault. Paddle me again, if you must." Alice's head snapped over to me in despair at the mention of "again." "It all started 'cause of me. Punish me instead."

The principal eyed me with something new, something akin to respect, perhaps. I was no longer the typical troublemaker in his eyes; I was different, there was something more to me. Alice's entire body was shaking uncontrollably and I pleaded with our principal, "Please, sir. This way's better for all of us. I started this, she only got into trouble because of me. _Please_ , let me take it instead. She's scared, sir, she's really scared. Please."

Alice was frightened beyond words and I positioned myself in front of her. I wouldn't let her be paddled in the way I was. It wasn't right, it was so _wrong_. At least our principal seemed to have the tiniest spark of empathy and a heart to boot, and he relented, "I'm impressed by your noble attempts to defend your sister. I will allow you two to split her punishment. Two for Alissa, two for you, Lucille. That's fair."

It wasn't my desired solution, but it was better than before. Alice apparently was to go first, and he positioned her accordingly before giving her two thwacks with the instrument. I had to look away. As she adjusted herself, I noticed she was misty-eyed, but she didn't cry, which made me feel better.

I received the last two which made my total a resounding seven. It reawakened the burning pain from before, but made it worse this time. Tears swam in my eyes, but I forcefully blinked them away. Sitting today would be a non-option. He just _had_ to ruin my day.

"Your physical punishment is now over," he concluded and I breathed a sigh of relief. "You two will have detention after school and for the rest of the week with our new art teacher."

I kept my emotions in check this time, though I was fuming internally. If I wanted to avoid further punishment, though, I had to maintain a certain level of politeness. "What's his name, sir?"

His enormous fuzzy eyebrows folded together as he checked the paper again- the eyebrows looked like little, fat worms with an ungodly amount of hair. "Ah, strange, he has the same last name as you. . . ." _That's odd._ "His name's Mr. Dawson. Mr. Jack Dawson."

This Jack Dawson wouldn't know what was coming for him.

 **A/N: So, what'd you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! :)**


	3. A Change Unknown

**A/N: Holy moly guacamole. Slam slam oh hot damn. Yeah, you get the point. Just . . . . . . . . . . wow. We've** ** _never_** **gotten so many follows, favorites, and reviews this early on. Never, fam, never!** ** _Neeeeevvveeeer_** **! Thank you** ** _sooooooooo_** **much! You guys are the most gourmet kind of awesome sauce. THE BEST KIND OF AWESOME SAUCE. Find your favorite desert in your house, and eat it. Eat it all. And enjoy it. You've earned it, lovely people. Go on, go on, we'll wait ;).**

 **Also, to the guest who reviewed on our first chapter and wrote this: "Please keep writing! Your story is magnificent, and the plot gives me a hunger that can only be satisfied by another chapter. Your words suck me into what Rose must feel like to be a single, heartbroken mother with two daughters who she believes will never meet their father. You are an amazing author with a breathtaking imagination so never give up the gift you have for writing. All in all, please update!" Thank you so much. We cannot begin to describe how much this means to us, and it is my (Goldie's) dream to be a writer one day, so this really struck a chord in me. Thank you for your beautiful encouragement!**

 **We're are super duper glad you guys are enjoying this so much already! We would have updated this sooner, but since the response to our last two installments have been so amazing, we wanted to lengthen the chapter and perfect it as much as we could. So, it's extra long! We put a whole lot of effort and time into it, so we really hope you guys like it! It's in Jack's perspective, and he meets his daughters for the first time! Well, does it count if none of them know it yet? When a tree falls in a forest, and nobody's around to hear it . . . ? Yeah, you get the gist of it. We think it counts, it'll just be more of a shock when they do find out! :DDDDD**

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 **Chapter 2: A Change Unknown**

 **Jack's Perspective**

It had been an eventful day, to say the least. The children were off at lunch and I finally allowed myself to breathe. _One step at a time_ , I had thought over the course of the day to keep myself going.

It was good to be back home. Since my parents died when I was fifteen, it wasn't the same, but it was better than nothing. Even if . . . she wasn't here with me.

I searched relentlessly for eight years, and I wasn't anywhere near done. No, I would _never_ give up. The last thing I heard before sinking into the icy abyss was her vowing to me that she'd never let me go, so there was no possible way I could ever give up on her.

She was alive- alive and well, hopefully. That was my first priority, that she was happy, and my close second was to find her, find the love of my life. I hadn't come up with even a trace of her for my entire search, so I decided the next best thing would to be find my roots once more and rebuild my life. It would be difficult to start a life with her when I couldn't support either of us.

There wasn't much time in between my searches to sell any art, so I was glad to land this job as an art teacher. It was at my old grammar school, in fact. Even the _principal_ was the same. I remembered despising him as a child, and I _still_ wasn't particularly fond of the man.

The kids weren't bad, and I got along well enough with all of them. I wasn't exactly used to spending time with children- the last time I'd had any interaction with a child was with young Cora on the . . . ship. She hadn't survived. I still thought about her from time to time.

I was busy straightening up today's art assignments on my front desk (I was a bit proud of myself, I had my own desk!) when the esteemed principal himself strutted into my humble classroom. It was impossible for me to display my distaste for him outright now that he was supplying my paychecks, so I put a lid on it.

"How's your first day going, Jack?" He still didn't respect me enough to refer to me by "Mr. Dawson," but I didn't really desire that. It felt strange coming from all the children, let alone him.

"I'm doing quite well, Gregory." So, it turned out he didn't appreciate it being dealt right back to him, so I quickly amended, "Mr. Seers."

"You have classes after lunch then your day is over, correct?" he asked of me and I nodded slowly, unsure of where he was going with this. "Incorrect, Jack. I need you to serve detention after school for a pair of second grade juvenile delinquents."

My eyebrows rose up and I bit back a smirk. "Juvenile delinquents, sir? Are they seven or eight?"

He caught on rapidly on the influx of mockery in my voice, but it didn't faze him at all. "Seven, and yes, well, the girls were punished accordingly."

The smile faded from my face. Great, he paddled them. _Just great._ I had been in that position too many unfortunate times to count, so I sympathized greatly with others who were forced to suffer through the same punishment. And they were little _girls_ , to boot! Considering he was my boss, I should've kept my mouth glued firmly shut, but my moral code outweighed my common sense. "Sir, is that really fair? They are little girls, after all, and-"

"Enough of that, Jack," he smoothly cut me off and I fell silent. "If I remember, you were bent over my desk a good handful of times, correct?"

A light blush crept to my cheeks. "Yes, sir."

"Then, you can attest to the fact that such discipline shapes you into a better person, correct?"

". . . I suppose, sir." It sounded like desperate justification to me.

"Then you can agree with the fact," my ex-principal should have invested in a career in law, "that these two girls have been properly punished, can't you?"

What was I supposed to do, say no? I would be fired on the spot. "Yes, right, sir." _No, wrong, sir_ , I corrected in my head, but I chose wisely to keep that to myself. I was beginning to recall why I had detested him so passionately.

That was good enough for him. "Yes, well, I'm glad we're agreed." I just stared at him, unamused, until he continued with, "Anyway, I gave the girls detention for the rest of the week after school for an hour, and since you're new here, I decided to allow you to host the detention."

 _Allow me? Why thank you, I appreciate that courtesy. I would love to, thank you so much for forcing this on me without asking first._ "Yes, sir, that's fine with me."

"It better be," was all he said before taking his exit. I groaned into my hands; this was going to be a very long day.

The rest of the school day whizzed by far too quickly. The principal made out the little girls I was serving attention to out to be demon children, but he was considerably biased. Still, I couldn't help but fret over it.

I cringed as the final bell rang and the students paraded out the door. I sat at my desk and worked on sketching a flower I had been toying with- a rose, of course. My sketchbook was filled with those, as well as pictures of . . . her.

Startling me out of my reverie, two little girls barged into my room with the principal on their tails. He sat them down in two separate seats across the room (was that really necessary?) as I observed quietly.

At first glance, I knew there was no way they could be as bad as he said they were. The two of them were downright adorable, angelic even. Both had large, identical blue eyes and milky white skin. One girl had long spirals of golden blonde hair, while the other's appearance, for some reason, sparked something in me. A curiosity of sorts. She looked . . . familiar somehow. Maybe it was the braids of fiery red hair, such a vibrant color . . . Like Rose's.

I shook my head, disappointed in myself. Did _everything_ remind me of her now? Could I not go a single day, a single hour without thinking about her? Mr. Seers hurried out of the room, then, with barely more than a "You're on your own now" tossed over his shoulder. _That traitor._

I peeked over to gauge their reactions to this whole predicament. The little blonde girl stared back at me challengingly, as if daring me to interrogate her about anything. Before I could say anything, she stood up and walked over to the red-haired girl, plopping down in a seat next her. She raised her eyebrows at me, like she was wondering if I was planning on opposing that move since the principal had separated them originally. I refrained, because I saw no issue with it.

The redhead was hugging a stuffed dolphin to her chest as if she'd never let it go. The blonde positioned herself almost protectively near her, acting as a shield between the redhead and I.

I wandered over to them and sat down on top of the table in front of theirs, continuing to add shading to my delicate rose. I didn't want to probe, so I decided not to be the one to start the conversation. That would be up to them, if they wanted to.

Every so often, I would glance up to see their bright blue eyes glued on me and my artistic actions, simply observing. Finally, though, it must have become too much for the little blonde girl because she hauled herself onto her own table onto her knees and craned her neck to take a sneak peek at my sketchbook. "Whatcha drawing?"

"A flower," I answered simply. "A rose to be specific." I tilted the sketchbook for them both to see and small but audible gasps escaped from both of their lips.

"How do you make it look so _real?_ " the blonde inquired with an intense interest.

"The shading and tints," I replied, pointing out certain areas to emphasize my point. "There needs to be layers and layers of dark and light to make it pop off the page."

"Is a rose your favorite flower?" the redhead piped up, cocking her head to the side innocently. I smiled sadly at her.

"Yeah, yeah it is." I stared down hard at the flower, thinking of my motivation of drawing it. The love of my life. "They don't last for very long, but in the short while they're on this Earth, they're like nothing else. It makes everything worth it- the beauty of them, the striking red . . . They're unique, nothing can control them, they're a vivid unique thing in comparison to everything bad in the world and nothing can bring them down. They're . . . perfect."

A tiny smirk was playing at the blonde's lips, but the redhead just looked at me quizzically. A sudden wave of shame washed over me; I said too much. They were children, they didn't need to hear of my life's woes. Hopefully, they didn't catch on to the deeper meaning of my rant and just assumed I thought the rose was a pretty flower.

"You get all of that from a flower?" the blonde prompted of me, her lips pulling apart into an impish grin. I couldn't help but smile back slightly, and only shrugged in response.

"What's your name?" I asked instead of answering her question. "I'm Mr. D- eh, you can just call me Jack."

"I'm Lucy." She boldly stuck out her dainty hand for me to shake, so I linked hands with her and shook, a smile still on my face. "She's my twin sister, Alice." Ah, so they were sisters. It made perfect since; they shared a startling resemblance.

"Lucy likes to draw, too," Alice commented, interrupting me from my thought process, and Lucy fired her deadly daggers sharpened to a deadly point. "What? You do. Mom can't afford a new sketchbook, but you filled up the old one and-"

" _Alice_ , shut up!" The blonde crawled forward to presumably attack her, but I was quicker, out of my seat on the table in a second, using my arm as a barricade between the two of them.

"Hey, hey, hey," I gently chided, shifting her back into her former place by the shoulders. "You don't need to be embarrassed. Art is _nothing_ to be embarrassed of."

"It is when you're no good at it," she grumbled, which earned her a sigh from the other sister.

"She is actually really good," Alice argued. She looked up at me with adoration for her sister, but Lucy just growled menacingly under her breath about, as she put it, the flimsy lies her twin was telling.

"I can show you a few things, if you want," I offered, and Lucy's fascination peaked, however much she tried to hide it. "It's kinda stuffy in here, though, do you girls want to go get some fresh air on the playground?" I already started to stick my sketchbook and pencils into a book bag, and slung it over my shoulder.

"Did the principal say we could do that?" Alice asked dubiously, and I smiled guiltily. No, he did not, young Alice, but _technically_ , he never specifically said we _couldn't_. Or at least that's how _I_ interpreted it.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him." Sure, I wasn't setting the greatest example, but the principal already punished them enough- too much, in fact. They deserved a reprieve, an adult that wouldn't go out of their way to make them miserable.

The two of them positioned their book bags around their shoulders, and we were all ready. "Good enough for me!" chirped Lucy, who clutched onto my and her sister's hand, pulling us impatiently out the door. It was a pleasant enough day, from what I saw outside the window since I had been stuck in the classroom all day; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, the cheerful sounds of exuberant children echoed all around the school.

The three of us strolled through the dreary hallways a little sneakily, and my heart leaped into my throat when I noticed the principal about to turn onto our corridor. Instead of being a "responsible adult" and admitting defeat, I grasped both girls' hands and yanked them into an empty classroom.

"What's going on?" Alice queried loudly, and I pressed a finger against my lips for silence. The footsteps grew louder and louder outside until the came to a halt right outside the door.

The principal's knuckles rapped sharply against the wood of the door. "Mrs. Sparrow, I need to talk to you." Mrs. Sparrow wasn't here, but unfortunately, he had to have heard movement from inside the classroom and thus assumed she was. Why this classroom? Why did I have to choose _this_ classroom?

Alice and Lucy were now utterly terrified, as was I if I were to be honest, and the two of them looked up to me for guidance. Again, instead of choosing the mature route, I hissed meaningfully into their ears, "Hide! Quick, go, go, go!"

As quietly as they could, they crawled on their hands and knees over to the teacher's desk and hid under it. I bolted to my feet just as the principal swung the door open. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he took in my presence.

"Jack, what the hell are you doing in here? You're supposed to be hosting the detention."

"I w-was, sir," I stammered, then quickly amended it to, "I am. I just, er . . . I was making them clean my classroom as punishment, and ran out of cleaning supplies, so I came in here to see if Mrs. Sparrow had any extra." _Good lie, Jack,_ I praised myself _, keep 'em coming._

"She's not here, Jack," Mr. Seers needlessly pointed out. _Thank you, kind sir, for telling me this- I didn't notice_. But I _did_ notice something else. Every single day he wore a suit jacket, no matter the weather, but beneath attached to his belt on his hip was a flask full of sloshing liquid. An alcohol flask. _Busted, Gregory boy_. "Don't fool me. Tell me why you're really here, and not watching over the girls."

Since I obviously did not have an appropriate answer for that, I answered just as coolly, "Well, sir, I would also like to ask _you_ a question. You aren't supposed to be drinking during school hours, are you?" _Hopefully my pathetic attempts at blackmail will not get me fired._

The man's eyes widened with surprise, but also revealed to me the drunken blank stare behind the irises. Mr. Seers was no stranger to the bottle. This couldn't have been a singular occurrence.

"Yes, well, good luck finding Mrs. Sparrow," he said stiffly, making moves to leave. "I need to find her as well. Perhaps I'll find her first." With nothing more said, he practically leaped out the door and slammed it behind him.

"Well, at least I didn't get fired," I said out loud, but preferably not voluminous enough for the girls to hear, as I turned around to meet two pairs of innocent blue eyes. Hopefully, my influence would not warp them in anyway. "Okay, we're good to go!"

"That was real close," Lucy breathed, and Alice nodded vigorously. The two of them followed me out the door and I nearly had a damn heart attack to find Mr. Seers only slightly down the hall talking to _another_ teacher, Miss Blake. _Why world, why me?! Why is all the bad luck in the universe directed toward me?!_

"Ah hell," I muttered under my breath. Mr. Seers's back was faced toward me, but Miss Blake noticed me, tilting her head slightly to the side in confusion. I clasped my hands together in a beg, pointed blatantly at the principal, then dragged my finger across my throat in a slitting fashion. If she didn't comprehend my message, then there was something innately wrong with her.

She smirked, and nodded almost imperceptibly, and I knew then we were safe.

Lucy and Alice, the poor girls, were scared out of their minds, so I kneeled down to their height to supply some form of comfort. "Hey, everything's going to be okay," I whispered as lowly as physically possible, glancing over my shoulder to ensure our secrecy. "I've got this handled."

After a few seconds of quick-thinking, I scooped them up in each arm and slunk silently down the hall, still looking back every so often to make sure Miss Blake was keeping him occupied. Their hands grabbed fistfuls of my shirt as they rocked back and forth.

Once we were around the corner, I carefully placed them back on their feet and plastered a bright smile on my face. They grinned back, triumphant at our success. "He's so clueless," Alice cackled evilly, and Lucy snickered along with her, peeking out back into the hallway.

I was about to warn her about giving away our position, and pull her back, when she scrambled away from her watch post. "Jack, he's coming! He's coming! I repeat: he's coming!"

Of _course_ he was. Man, that principal was just a shark after blood. A clueless shark, but a shark all the same.

Would this adventure _never end?_ I paraded the three of us into a particularly lengthy shadow, directing them behind me so if we were seen, I would be the only one visible. My heart pounded a mile a minute, and a waterfall of blood roared in my head. _Lub dub, lub dub, lub dub, lub dub . . ._ This was the final straw; if he caught us now, we were done for.

Mr. Seers proved himself to be the most oblivious man I'd ever met in all my twenty-seven years. He walked right past us. Ah, victory was a sweet, sugary taste on the tongue.

The sunlight was all the more rewarding as we _finally_ exited the school and found the forbidden playground. "Freedom!" exploded from Alice's lips as she raced for the monkey bars, jumping up and swinging from them with a surprising amount of agility.

Lucy made no moves to follow her, so I found a nice, shady area underneath an oak tree to sit down. The air was cold and chilled straight to the bone, so the sunlight was in fact a false hope. I had a feeling- a faint, irrational feeling, but a feeling nonetheless- that snow was in our near future.

I remembered fondly my time living in this town, Chippewa Falls, as a young boy. Even if it was in the dead of the night, I had a sort of sixth sense, where even the slightest amount of snow would awaken me from the deepest of slumbers. I would be the first one up in the morning, and always the first one to step in a blanket of unadulterated snow. That was then, when I lived for cold weather.

I _hated_ the cold now, for obvious reasons. Hypothermia was not a pleasant experience.

Evidently, my nostalgic reverie was not well-received by Lucy- perhaps I wasn't paying her enough attention- because she flung an acorn right at my head. I blinked at her in surprise, then ruefully rubbed at the soon-to-be knot on my forehead. "Hey!" I chastened lightly. "You didn't need to do that."

The little girl was entirely unfazed. "I kept tryin' to talk to you, but you weren't talkin' back, so I had to throw an acorn at you." Well, at least her logic thoroughly convinced _her_.

"Yeah, well, next time just nudge me on the shoulder, m'kay? No weapons are necessary." Yeah, I was a little grumpy, sue me. Throbbing heads could do that to you.

"Sorry." That child was a lot of things, but contrite sure as hell was not one of them. Indifferent was more like it. I shook my head, amused.

Digging through my book bag, I found a brand new sketchbook I was planning on using when I finished my current one, but decided instead to hand it over to Lucy. "Here, you said you couldn't afford another one, so keep this one," I told her kindly.

Her eyes were as wide as moons, and as bright as the twinkling stars on the darkest of nights. "But, Jack, those cost money and-"

"And I choose to use my money and give you this," I finished for her smoothly, smiling down at her. She grinned up at me in response, and I handed one of my favorite pencils over to her. "Here, use this. It works real good with shading."

In a pensive trance, she tapped the tip of the pencil against the first blank page of her sketchbook. "T-thank you. I'll take care of it real good, I promise." I had no doubt that she would.

We both satisfied ourselves in drawing a doodle of Alice sitting on top of the monkey bars, hugging her stuffed dolphin. She did not realize she was the subject of our artistic observation, which was a good thing, because she probably wouldn't have appreciated it.

I craned my neck over to catch a glimpse of her drawing, and a gasp of surprise escaped from my lips. Sure, when Alice extolled her sister's talent, I figured she may have just been exaggerating- no, she wasn't. It wasn't Picasso or anything, but it far exceeded a normal seven-year-old's abilities- and the general young population, if we were being honest. It was actually, genuinely _good_.

" _Damn_ ," I praised and unfortunately, she overheard my slip of tongue. "Um, I didn't say that. Don't repeat that."

"I can say whatever I want! Damn!" she repeated happily, coloring in the the texture of Alice's braids. I forced out a breath of air, not legitimately cross with her, and entertained myself by giving her a mini art lesson on tints, tones, and shades.

As I leaned into point at a particular area, a soft gust of wind mingled with her curls, and her bandaged cheek became visible to me. Now, yes, it did not previously escape my notice, but it wasn't exactly a suitable opportunity to interrogate her about it. Now was better. "Hey, what happened to your face?"

She didn't even bother to look up from her shading. "I fell off a tree yesterday."

Well, I was not expecting that one. I smiled slightly, befuddled. "Um . . . a tree?"

"That's what I said," she said matter-of-factly, furiously scrubbing with her eraser at a piece of dirt that sprinkled onto the paper. "Weren't you listening?" _Just got outsmarted by a little girl. Well, at least she ain't a regular little girl_.

This was not a shy child. Not in the slightest. Most little girls I'd met were quite unlike her. Alice was more akin to the likes I'd already seen, but not Lucy. There was a tomboyish aura wafting from her, as well as a certain shameless tenacity. A stubbornness that would grate against most adults, like Mr. Seers as a shining example, but I actually sort of liked it about her. Stubborn girls would be the death of me, but I would die happy.

"What were you doing in a tree?"

"Climbing it." She was nothing if not honest. _Gee, thanks for the specificity, Lucy._

"Well, I figured that one out on my own."

"Well, I really hoped so, 'cause if ya didn't, then I'd be real worried 'bout your intelligence." _First off, for a seven-year-old, she has a decent vocabulary. Second . . . hey!_

"That ain't very nice," I chuckled, no force whatsoever behind my words.

"I ain't never said I was nice. You just assumed that 'cause I'm little and a girl. Well, Jack, you thought wrong." I snorted heartily. _Point taken._

Well, now was time to continue my interrogation. "How _tall_ was the tree?" I barely knew the two of them, but I found myself concerned for their safety and general well-being.

"Real tall. It was as tall as the sky!" She sounded so proud of herself, that I didn't have the heart to warn her of the dangers of what she'd done. "I was sittin' on a branch and it broke, so I fell, and Alice was so busy laughin' at me that she fell off too. It was real funny." Her smirk was exceptionally smug, like she took pleasure in the karma that was inflicted on her sister.

Worry struck a chord in me and I demanded, "Was Alice hurt?" It was irrational on hindsight, considering she _was_ , after all, in school the next day, but I couldn't stop myself from asking it.

Lucy, realizing I wasn't going to be finished anytime soon, sighed and tossed her pencil to the side in a pile of crunchy dead leaves. "Naw. She was sure goin' on like she was hurt, but she wasn't _really_."

It couldn't have been a tall tree, then, certainly not "as tall as the sky." Still, I was relieved that the two girls were relatively unharmed.

I didn't press the issue further and we sat there, under the calming shade of the oak tree, in a comfortable silence. We had formed a sort of camaraderie between us, one that didn't require either of us to chatter through said silence.

It didn't last long. Little Alice somehow found a way to flip upside down on the monkey bars, her shoes caught on one of the bars. A strangled, almost banshee-like shriek ripped from her throat.

I was on my feet before I knew what was happening. The muscles in my legs were taut and ready to spring into action, but Lucy's grip on my shirt prevented me from leaping into said action. "What is it?" I demanded of her, not bothering to keep the frustration out of my tone.

"She does this 'bout once a week, you ain't gotta be so jumpy," Lucy explained, completely unbothered by the fact that her sister was hanging upside down in a precarious position. "Can you gimme a minute so I can draw her real quick? It'd be a real good drawin'."

I'm ashamed to admit that I actually thought about it for a few seconds- from an artist's point of view! "Well . . ." Then I remembered that I was in fact an adult, temporarily responsible for these girls, and any traces of doubt were removed from my mind. "No, Lucy, I have to help her!"

I charged forward as she wailed out of distress, her arms flailing around wildly and without any sort of rhythm. Her dress fell over her head, revealing her plain white undergarment. "Help me!" she squealed, her foot slowly slipping from the bar.

I carefully grabbed her by her skinny waist and propped her up onto her feet, looking her over with scrutiny. "Are you okay, Alice?"

"Yeah," she pouted, batting away my hand as I fixed her dress sleeve, which had fallen down her shoulder. "But I woulda been even better if you hadn't almost listened to Lucy sayin' sweet evils in your ear." _Sweet evils?_ Yeah, that was a first. These little girls were something else.

"I didn't listen," I said helpfully, but she just gave me the evil eye, her pride still mostly intact. I glanced up at the lowering sun, and deduced that the detention had to be over by now. "I think our time here's finished. I'll walk you two home."

"You don't gotta do that," Lucy immediately protested. I couldn't tell if she was arguing with me just for the mere sake of it, or if she just very much adhered to her independence, but either way, I wasn't budging.

"It's getting later, there aren't a big group of kids to walk back with. I'll walk you. Good with you? It's good with me." Without waiting for an answer, I went back to the tree and retrieved my sketchbook, then started the way off the playground even though I had utterly no idea where I was heading to.

Alice supplied me with suitable, albeit vague directions, and we were on our merry way. It occurred to me as we strolled below the lengthening shadows of the oak trees, that their parents didn't know why they were arriving so late. "Do y'think your parents are worrying about you?"

Their little faces scrunched up in thought. "Mom has a play audition, don't she?" Alice asked of Lucy, who just shrugged in response. "She said she might get home a little later than usual. We know where the key is," she finished with an air of importance.

"What about your dad?" I found myself inquiring, then mentally stomped all over myself. If they didn't mention him, then that was probably a sure sign in itself that he either was not in the picture, or they just plain did not want to talk about him. Either way, nobody won and I ended up looking like a callous idiot.

A shade of unfathomable sadness painted itself across Alice's face, and she didn't answer me. Lucy just assumed a stony look, like she was building up a bunch of walls so it wouldn't hurt so much to think about, and she muttered, "He died before we were born."

And that is precisely why I should not have asked in the first place. Sometimes my foot just liked to take temporary residence in my mouth. "I'm sorry," I said regretfully. "My parents died when I was fifteen, so I know what it's like to have to live without 'em."

They absorbed that quietly, and we walked along the well-trodden road in a somber silence. I thought about my parents, and my heart still twinged with the familiar grief that always intertwined itself with my memories of them. I wondered hopelessly if that would ever change. Probably not. That wasn't something you could ever quite get over, especially since I was so young when they died. Just a kid.

"My mom still misses him a whole lot," Alice brought up after a long minute, startling me out of my reverie. I knew a whole lot about missing those we couldn't have- dead or alive. "She cries sometimes. Sometimes," she lowered her voice as if she were sharing a secret of enormous significance, "her eyes go away and she don't want to see us for a little while. 'Specially Lucy, 'cause Mom says she looks so much like 'im."

There was a time after my parents' death where anything and everything could remind me of them and bring tears to my eyes, but I couldn't imagine this. Having to cope with a miniature version of him and be reminded everyday of your life what was missing. It had to be sheer torture, and even though I didn't know their mother at all, my heart ached for her. As much as she must've loved her children, she still had to suffer every time she looked at them.

"I'm sorry about that. That must be hard on you." It really did have to be. However hard it was on their mother, it was also difficult for them because they didn't understand any of it, so they might've been taking her occasional avoidance of them personally. Little kids never knew any better. "I'm sure she doesn't mean to hurt either of you. It has to be hard for her, seeing him in both of you."

We finally arrived at a quaint little blue house, and they hopped up the creaky old wooden steps. Lucy retrieved the key from under the moldy, moth-eaten doormat and wiggled it into the door's lock, pushing the peeling door open. Both of them glanced back at me and bid me a friendly adieu. The two of them had quite a mouth on them, but nobody could deny the underlying sweetness both of them possessed- even Lucy, the acorn-throwing little fiend.

"Bye Lucy, bye Alice," I said in farewell, waving at them as I began my rather short trek to my own house (I didn't quite feel like returning to the school, I had enough of Mr. Seers for one lifetime.) "See you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," they chanted, entering their house, leaving the door open a crack as they dropped their book bags onto the ground with a pair of soft thuds.

A feminine voice sounded from somewhere inside, but it was too faint to make out the exact words. Still . . . It should have meant nothing to me. It was the voice of a stranger, nothing more. But . . . there was something about that voice that drew me to it, drew me to the house. Like the voice had wafted through the air, and melted through me, wrapping its invisible tendrils around my heard and tugging me toward it.

Even after the door closed, I stood there in the middle of the street, captivated, lulled into a trance simply because of one muffled voice that I couldn't even hear anymore. _It sounded so familiar. . . . No, Jack, you can't go down that path. You have to stop . . . You can't let everything remind you of_ her _. You just can't . . ._

For a split second, the curtains snapped open and I caught a glimpse through the filthy window of a woman's face. Because of all the dirt and grime, it was damn near impossible to discern the features, but I knew one thing for sure. She had bright red hair the color of a roaring fire.

And just like that, the curtains closed and the woman was gone.

 **A/N: Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! What did you think of Jack's first meeting with his daughters?**


	4. The Runaways

**A/N: YOUGUYSAREAWESOMEOMIGOSHWELOVEYOU! *Ahem.* What we said was: you guys are awesome, omigosh, we love you! 'Cause we do. You guys brighten up our day so much, and we take care to read every single one of your reviews thoroughly, and it brings a smile to our faces. Seriously,** ** _thank you_** **. Each and every one of you means** ** _so_** **much to us, and we really appreciate you! Thanks so much for being you. We're sorry for taking so long to update! We'll try to be better :).**

 **We are** ** _so_** **glad you loved the interactions between Jack and the girls! We loved writing it, if we're being honest, we were giggling like maniacs writing it. Now, in this chapter, there's interaction between the girls and Rose, and unfortunately, it's not a good one.**

 **In our story, Rose has PTSD from the Titanic and losing Jack. She loves her daughters with all her heart as they love her, but sometimes she just can't handle it. We completely adore her character and this will** ** _not_** **be the only side of her, as you've seen the loving, caring side of her in the prologue and chapter 1. She just has some issues. You'll see.**

 **Without further ado, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :D**

 **Chapter 3: The Runaways**

 **Alice's Perspective**

Mom had just gotten home from her play audition, but unfortunately, right _before_ us, so she wanted to know why we had been late. I most certainly did not want to tell her that Lucy sassed a teacher, I bit the same teacher, we were paddled by the evil principal, and we were forced to endure a surprisingly fun detention. What she didn't know, wouldn't kill her.

"Where were you two?" she repeated for what felt like the millionth billionth zillionth time- in all likelihood, it summed up to about three.

Lucy and I exchanged a conspiratorial glance, and Mom's eyes wandered over to the sketchbook stowed away under Lucy's arm. "Where'd you get that, Lucy?"

See, there was this problem, and Lucy and I both knew it. Not only the fact that we were bad and whatnot, but the art teacher's _name_. Mr. Jack . . . something. Didn't it start with a "D?" Or maybe it was a "B?"

Oh well, that didn't matter. What mattered was the name _Jack_. Jack was our father's name, the man who died before we were born. We didn't know much about him, 'cause Mom couldn't tell us much without tearing up. It made Lucy and I a little angry sometimes, but there wasn't much we could do about. None of the demons and horrors and evils in the world were as bad as seeing your mother cry.

Whenever anybody mentioned the name Jack, Mom's eyes would drift off into a whole other world, like she'd forget anything and everything around her. And she would cry broken, broken tears. We couldn't help her none, because the sight of us only made her sob harder.

"I found it at the park," Lucy lied, trying to sound convincing. She knew as well as I did what would happen if the story of our day were to unravel. She snuck me a glance out of the corner of her eye and I gave her my nod of understanding. "There were no names or drawings or nothing so I wanted to keep it."

Our mom did her best with us, so even though we were her kids and awful young, we both tried to help out as much as we could. The last thing we wanted to do was hurt her.

Mom placed a hand over each hip and glared down at us in the way only a mother could. "Why, little Lucy, haven't we discussed how lying gets you nowhere in life? You're the most brutally honest I know, I don't know why you'd lie about this. That sketchbook looks brand new. Now, I will give you one more chance, where did you get the sketchbook?"

Attempting to come to my sister's aid, I put in, "Mom, she is telling the truth. We went walking to the park after school with some of the boys from around here when we found it. When we asked around, no one claimed it so we took it. It would be worse if we let it get ruined if it rained or snowed or somethin'."

Mom remained unconvinced. In looking over at Lucy, I could see she was trying to keep from blurting out the truth. Lucy was an honest person to her core. Lying just wasn't in her nature, and this must've been killing her. The only thing she hated worse than lying itself was somebody _calling_ her a liar. Then . . . watch out.

Mom stared down at us, her eyes clouded with thought, as if trying to decide how believable our story was. "I thought I heard somebody out there with you. Did one of the boys from the park walk you home?" she asked suspiciously, gliding over to the window to pry open the curtains.

A small, almost inaudible gasp escaped her lips as she peered outside the dirty window, and she shut the curtains almost as quickly as she opened them. Sinking down onto the couch, she clutched at her chest and heaved out a few deep breaths. She buried her face in her hands, and fear gripped my throat.

"Mom?" I whispered, tentatively tip-toeing over to her with Lucy by my side. "Mom, are you okay?"

She looked up at us, and a thin sheet of tears covered her typically bright green eyes. "I-I'm fine, girls. Just . . . just seeing things, that's all. Seeing things that aren't really there." I was no expert, being seven years old and all, but that did not sound good. "I'm just tired. The play audition took a lot out of me. But, it looks like I've gotten another job!" A thin, but happy smile turned up the corners of her mouth.

Lucy tossed her sketchbook carelessly on the cushion next to Mom, and the two of us squealed jubilantly and jumped forward to throw our arms around Mom's slender form. She laughed heartily as we accidentally knocked her backwards against the couch cushions, but she only hugged as tighter.

Reluctantly letting go, she patted us both on the top of our heads and suggested, "Why don't you two change out of your school clothes- meaning you, Lucy, I know you hate that dress- and we can talk about how our days went?"

Lucy did not need anymore encouragement. Her excitement over the prospect of overalls after a long, hard day spurred her to race for our room. I skipped along after her, ready to tuck my dolphin in its rightful place in our bed.

Lucy had the talent of changing rapidly down to a science, and she was already wearing her boyish overalls as I entered to situate my dolphin against the pillows. "Thanks for making sure Miss Grumpy Pants didn't take it," I told her softly, but meaningfully.

Her blue eyes were wide and serious as she shuffled over to me; she wasn't planning on making a joke out of this. She grabbed my hand tightly, almost possessively, and said strongly and clearly, "You're my sister. My little sister, by two whole minutes. I ain't ever gonna let anybody hurt you. They ain't getting past me. I promise."

I pulled her in for a warm embrace, and sure enough, I did feel safer with her vow of protection. Because I knew, even in my little seven year old mind, she would fight to her last breath for me, just as I would do for her. "I love you, Lucy."

"Love ya too, Alice," she mumbled into my shoulder. Together, hand in hand, we exited our room with a new jaunt in our steps and made our way back to the living room. Mom wasn't there.

Concerned, we ventured toward her bedroom, only to find her searching through Lucy's sketchbook, a deep longing in her eyes. Lucy fumbled for my hand in search of comfort, and I squeezed back. It was never too fun when Mom got like this.

"Who taught you to shade like this?" she asked quietly, brushing tears out of her eyes. "It's . . . very good."

Lucy didn't accept compliments easily, but with a boost to her self-esteem, she found it in herself to reply. "My art teacher, Jack!" she said with an excitement that quickly faded as she realized the mistake she had just made. "Oh, um, I didn't mean that, Mom, I swear." It was too late now. She had spoken it, and now it couldn't be unsaid. _Jack_.

Mom went stiff and I could feel my muscles tense at her despair. Lucy, desperate to rectify her mistake, looked at me with an intense sense of worry. That name was like poison in this house, and it forced our mom into a real scary state.

"What did you say?" Mom managed to choke out, new tears welling up in her brilliant green eyes. "Your art teacher . . . _Jack?_ " The last word cracked as it stuck in her throat.

"She said John!" I blurted out, attempting to clean up the mess my sister had made. "Or at least she meant it," I said, my voice fading into silence. "She just . . . said it wrong." Even I knew how utterly lame that was. Nobody in their right mind would buy that as an excuse, nor could I expect them to. I only wanted to help, but there wasn't anything we could do now. This was going to be a _long_ evening.

Mom sank down onto her bed and clutched feebly at her sides, her tears finally spilling over down her cheeks. Noisy sobs shook her suddenly frail form. Her eyes were gone; so, so far away. Her eyes left the room, left the house, maybe even left Chippewa Falls. Mom wasn't here anymore.

Lucy frantically darted forward and took handfuls of Mom's dress inside of her white, trembling fists. "Mommy, I swear I didn't mean it, I _swear!_ I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. I _never_ mean to make you cry." She was telling the truth, as always. Neither of us _ever_ meant to make her cry. It was the worst crime in the whole wide world, yet it happened so often. And it was all our fault. If it weren't for us, Mommy wouldn't cry so much. I just knew it.

"Pl . . . Pl . . . Please leave me for the night, girls," Mom whimpered, threatening to succumb to her weeping. I was afraid she'd suffocate at the rate she was going. Lucy and I usually could calm her down enough so she breathed all right. It didn't help, though, when she sent Lucy away. I knew it hurt my sister, even though she'd _never_ admit it. Being rejected by our mother left her with worse than just wounded feelings or a bruised ego. It hurt her to the _core_.

Mom would make Lucy leave, and then the job of calming her down and comforting her would be left solely to me. I'd wander around later and try to find Lucy, who as usual, would bottle up all the hurt she'd been suffering through and pretended it all didn't exist. It was hard to get through to her thick skull, and make her understand that Mommy didn't send her away to reject her, she just couldn't look at her right then. Lucy couldn't tell the difference, and frankly, I couldn't blame her.

"Mommy, let us help you," I told her, attempting a sweet, soft, gentle voice- the one she used for us when _we_ were upset. I joined Lucy's side, reached forward and touched my mom's arm, only to feel the cold sweat that caked her skin, like she was stuck in a bad dream. I could tell it was taking everything in her not to shake my hand off her arm. It was like her skin despised the touch of another.

"Leave me 'lone, _please_ ," she begged of us, and fear forced my heart up into my throat and into my mouth. I just didn't know how to help her. Normally, I could handle it, but now she didn't even want _me_ around. It was always just Lucy she couldn't bear when she got like this, never me. " _Please,_ I can't handle this right now. _Please_."

Lucy snaked her arms around Mom's neck, the skin coated in a fine sheen of sweat, and buried her head in the crook under her chin. "Mommy, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to talk about Daddy. I'm sorry he's dead, Mommy. If I could bring him back for you . . . I would, I _promise._ But we're here, right Alice?" She peered down at me for assistance, and I strongly voiced my agreement. "Mommy, I promise, we'll never let go."

Lucy's must've said the wrong thing. My heart broke as I saw the expression on my mom's face as she looked at my twin sister through her tears. Her face was riddled with grief and a deep sadness, it was like looking at her own daughter was too painful for words. The two of us had to see that expression far too often, and that was typically right before Lucy had to go off on her lonesome.

"Leave me alone!" she shrieked, ripping out of Lucy's hold. Frightened, Lucy scrambled off her bed. "Just _go!_ Please, go! I can't look at you right now! . . . You look like him, you look just like him. . . ."

"Mommy, please-" Lucy pleaded, but Mom snapped, hurtling Lucy's sketchbook at her dresser. Well, she _meant_ to throw it at her dresser. It didn't work out too well. Unfortunately, one of the metal rings clipped the corner of Lucy's head on the way and drew a bubble of crimson. Lucy jumped back like a wounded animal, stunned and hurt.

I gaped at Mom in a whole new light, and Mom's eyes were as wide as moons. Mom had never _physically_ hurt us before. Sure, she sometimes said things I knew she didn't mean when she was real upset, but not _this_. "Oh my God, Lucy, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Without missing a beat, Lucy grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room without so much as a whimper. She was so blank in expression that I wondered if I had lost her too, along with our mom. No, I wouldn't let that happen. Not my sister. I heard loud sobs coming from Mom's room, and something was tugging my heart back there, but Lucy wouldn't let me.

I winced in pain as she dragged me away from Mom's room, the bones in my hand being clutched tight enough to break, but Lucy didn't stop. Before I knew it, we were in the living room and heading for the front door.

"Lucy, stop. Take a second and talk to me, sissy," I pleaded, seizing her wrist and turning her around sharply to face me. Her expression was stony and unrelenting. Did I mention she had a thick skull? 'Cause she did. She didn't accept advice, compliments, or insults too well.

"No," she argued, fumbling for the door handle. "We need to go. We aren't safe here no more. I ain't gonna let her hurt you too. We need to leave now!" She ripped open the door and an icy blast of cold air blew against my face. It was dark as ink outside. There was no way I was going out there!

"Lucy, please," I cried, tears flowing freely from my eyes. I was scared and confused and just wanted my sister and mommy to be okay. They needed to be okay, they were all I had.

"Are ya coming or not? I thought we were suppose to sisters forever, what happened to that?" Lucy hissed at me, all vicious, and I cringed away from her. She was hiding behind her anger, and it scared me to death. "It's just you and me, Alice, why can't you _see_ that?!"

I couldn't let Lucy down now, not when she always protected _me_. I wouldn't betray her like that. "Give me one second," I said between my sniffles, before racing into our room and grabbing my dolphin and Lucy's little octopus stuffed animal that was buried beneath sheets. She tried to pretend like she didn't care for it, but I knew it brought her comfort. And all she _really_ needed right now was comfort, even if she, as always, refused to allow it.

Both animals in hand, I raced back to the living room to find my sister waiting impatiently at the door, the rims of her eyes a vibrant red. Seeing me, she let out a little breath of relief, and she tried to form a small smile on her lips for me, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Here you go." I handed her the stuffed animal, and she toyed with it in her hands. "Are you sure that you want to leave?" I asked, giving one last attempt to dissuade her from her path of destruction, but she just nodded her head in yes and took my hand.

We exited the house and stepped into the cool night air. I shivered in my dress that I still wore from my day at school. I wasn't prepared for this- _any_ of this. This wasn't okay. _None_ of this was okay.

"Girls, where are you?" Mom yelled from inside the house. Her voice was all strained from her recent breakdown and she sounded distressed. Everything in me screamed for me to run back inside, but I couldn't abandon my sister. Not now, when she needed me most. I had to step up to the plate for her.

Pulling on my wrist, Lucy half-dragged me down the trail leading to the forest. In the dark, the once lively forest took on an ominous look. It gave me the chills, knowing we were heading straight for it.

"Lucy," I pleaded, digging my heels in the ground to slow us both down. "I'm not so sure about this. There are other places to go, right? The trees are scary."

She looked back at me with this hopelessness in her eyes, that made me want to break down into tears, but my sissy needed me, so I took a breath and entered into the dark forest only lit by the moonlight. "I'll protect you, Alice. I _promise_. We just need to get away. Here, she won't find us."

I trusted Lucy with all my heart, so I didn't complain anymore. She knew what she was doing, she _had_ to know. She _always_ had my back. This wasn't any different, I wouldn't let it be.

Our house was nowhere in sight now, but Lucy kept marching on with me in tow. Her temple had finally stopped bleeding, but there was still a mess of crimson staining the entire side of her head. Mom said one time about heads bleedin' a whole lot. An owl hooted menacingly from somewhere above me, and I shrieked, grasping onto Lucy's overalls for safety. She just shushed me as we moved along.

I noticed the tears glistening on her cheeks before she did. "Lucy, you're cryin'! Are you okay?"

She furiously wiped at her face, and turned her head away from me, not wanting me to witness her moment of weakness. "Shut up, Alice, I ain't cryin'."

"But you _are_ -"

"No, I'm not, so shut your face!" And that was that, there was no more room for arguments.

Finally, we found a moldy log and decided to sit down for a minute and catch our breath. I was cold and tired and hungry and scared, and I just wanted to go _home_. Everything needed to be okay again. "Lucy, I'm scared," I whimpered, allowing the tears that had been prickling at my eyes for the last fifteen minutes to overflow once more, like a faulty dam. "I wanna go home!"

She jumped to her feet so she could glare down at me with a little more authority. "Alice, I told ya, we can't go home no more! It's not safe for you. Mom hurt me, a-a-and she ain't never done that before, and it's only a matter of time before she hurts you too, and I ain't gonna let that happen!" More tears threatened to spill from the brims of her eyes again, so she rubbed at them with her fists.

That thought terrified me more than being lost in the pitch black trees. "Mom wouldn't hurt me . . . would she, Lucy? Do ya think Mommy would hurt me, too?"

"I don't know anymore!" she yelled, not at me, but at nothing and everything, and a group of birds nearby fluttered away, squawking in outrage. I shuddered; we _definitely_ weren't alone in these woods. "She might. But, you don't gotta worry, Alice, I ain't gonna let her. Y'see, I'm only tryin' to protect you, you don't gotta be scared! Even . . . even if it's our own mom, I ain't gonna let _anybody_ hurt ya."

I just couldn't stop crying. Shame burned me up inside, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to be brave for Lucy, 'cause she was protecting me, but I was just so _scared_. "I don't wanna stay in these woods anymore!" I bawled, ripping up a patch of moss up by its roots and throwing it to the side, petulantly. "Lucyyyyyy, I wanna go home!"

She stared at me long and hard. I could tell Lucy didn't want to budge, but my influence won her over, thank the stars. "Okay, sissy . . . We'll leave the woods."

I should've been happy, and I was. At least, at first. But soon enough, it became clear to me that Lucy had no idea where we were heading, and we were utterly lost. Once I'd seen the same the same tree marking three times in a row, I knew we were done for. We were gonna die in these woods. And I'd never get to tell my mommy I was sorry for running away, or goodbye, or that I loved her so much, no matter how much she cried and yelled and rejected my sister. I'd always love her.

To make everything so much better, my klutzy self tripped over a jagged tree root and I collapsed right onto my face. "Alice!" my sister cried, hurrying over to my side. "Alice, you all right?"

Pain shot through my ankle, and even after I attempted to arise to a standing position, it refused to support my weight. "No," I blubbered, "I twisted my ankle and now I can't walk no more!"

Now, she looked _real_ scared. "C'mon, Alice, it can't be far! We just got a little more to go." She tried to haul me to my feet, but I slapped her away because the pain was making me angry. It was the only way I could handle it right now, when I didn't have Mommy to help me.

"I _can't!_ " I shouted, fully intending on shoving all my fear and pain and resentment right onto her. "This is all your fault! If we just hadn't left the house, n-none of this woulda happened! We wouldn't have got lost, and I wouldn't have got _hurt!_ You shoulda listened to me, Lucy, but ya didn't, 'cause you don't care none about what other people think, only yourself!"

"Shut up, Alice, you ain't got no idea what you're talking about," she spat down at me, and I knew then that I'd pierced her thick walls, and genuinely hurt her. But like always, she refused to reveal her pain, and her temper flared instead. "I'm tryin' to protect ya, that's all, and it ain't my fault if you trip over every damn thing you find!"

Unlike her, I wore my heart on my sleeve, and she just bruised my already delicate feelings. She was the enemy now, not Mom, not Miss Grumpy Pants, not our principal . . . _her_. "Well, you're doing a real bad job at it!"

Her eyes got real big at that, and she looked like she was fighting down the urge to stomp down on my helpless figure. "Take that back," she said menacingly, bawling up her dainty hands into fists. "You take that back, Alice. Or I'll make ya take it back!"

"No, I ain't takin' nothing back! I wouldn't be here if you weren't so stubborn all the time. You don't gotta protect me all the time. Just . . . leave me here, and go get help or somethin'."

She stared at me like I was the biggest idiot she'd ever laid eyes on, and outright scoffed in my face. "I'm not gonna leave you in a dark forest all by your lonesome, Alice. Are ya stupid?"

"No, I ain't stupid, _you_ are!"

Lucy scrunched up her nose. "Uh uh, you are!"

"No, you are!"

"Puh-lease, you are!"

"Yeah, um, no, you are!"

"In your dreams, ya stupid klutz!"

"I ain't a klutz, you're a klutz!" She just gave me such a scorching yet smug look of triumph, and I sulked at my defeat. "Oh . . . right."

We sat on opposite sides of a nearby log and faced in different directions. My arms were crossed and I was trying to keep from crying more than I already was. All I wanted was to go home to my mommy. My ankle hurt, I was cold, and sad. I didn't like when my sissy and I fought.

Deciding to be strong for once, I scooted my way over to her and muttered into the darkness, "I'm real sorry, Lucy. I didn't mean what I said. You do a good job at protecting me."

She didn't respond, she just remained looking down at the ground and masking all her pain, so I continued, "I trust you, sissy, and what Mom did wasn't right, but she isn't well. Y'know she can't handle stuff like this. We _know_ that. She loves you, I just know she does. She loves you so much and you know it. Even if sometimes her eyes go away and she yells and throws stuff and cries. And even if she makes you leave sometimes 'cause she can't look at you anymore. It don't matter. We may not have a daddy, but our mommy loves us a lot, and I don't think we really need one. We are family and families stick together 'cause that's what we do."

I sat anxiously in wait, when finally, Lucy turned to face me, tears streaking down her face. Finally, her walls, however temporarily, were worn away and she was vulnerable. Something she _hated_. But she trusted me enough to show it to me. With no more words said, I threw my arms around her and we cried quietly into the dead of night.

 **A/N: So, what'd you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! Will the girls find their way home, or will somebody find them?**


	5. We'll Never Let Go

**A/N: Ugh, it's been a month. We know, we suck. Real life sucks more, though. Luckily for us, school ends in three weeks, and that means we'll have way more time to write! Yay! For now, thank you soooooooooo much for the wonderful support. The reads, follows, favorites, reviews, everything. It's been amazing, and we really appreciate them! This chapter has a lot of Titanic parallelism, so it was extra fun to write. And sad. We made ourselves sad :(.**

 **It's a Lucy and Jack chapter (the perspectives switch off), with some bonding (well, sorta- you'll see). We hope you like it! Please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :)**

 **Chapter 4: We'll Never Let Go**

 **Lucy's Perspective**

Alice and I had cried ourselves to sleep, but the gentle touch of freezing cold coaxed me awake in the middle of the night. We were surrounded by a thick, white blanket . . . of snow. It had snowed, and all Alice was wearing was a thin dress, and all I had was overalls. Even if Alice didn't wake up in thirty seconds or so to inform me yet again running away was a bad idea, I would've figured that out for myself.

"Mommy must be so scared," Alice whimpered for what _felt_ like the thousandth time. _Thanks, Alice, I didn't know that._

"Well, she's gonna be even scarder if we freeze," I muttered under my breath, but instantly regretted it when Alice gasped loudly.

"Lucy, are we gonna die out here?"

"No, we ain't gonna die."

"But you said-"

"I lied."

"You don't lie." That much was typically true.

"Well, I was wrong."

"You say again and again you're never wrong!" Okay, so, _maybe_ that was true, just _maybe_ , but this was not the time to bring this up. Like, there was a time and a place for these kinds of accusations.

" . . . There's a first for everything."

She outright scoffed at me, and I bristled. "You're wrong all the time, Lucy."

Oh, it was on. She wouldn't know what was coming for her. "I am not!"

"You are too!"

"I am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

I glared at her with as much ferocity as I could muster, and threatened, "Shut up before I leave you here to freeze."

She stared at me with those wide, doleful blue eyes- her puppy-dog look. "You said we _weren't_ gonna freeze!"

I sighed a long sigh of suffering, and shut my eyes exhaustedly. "We ain't gonna freeze. I was just jokin'. You know me. I joke a lot. We just gotta . . . hold onto each other to keep warm. Or we move around. It's one of the two. . . ."

"You have to get help." Alice sounded so determined, so confident in her suggestion. "Just leave me here, and go get help, and then y'all can come back and get me."

"NO! I'm not leaving you. I'll _never_ leave you. When will you get that through your big head?" I bit back. I was attempting to suppress the teeth chattering that was begging me to give way to the cold. I needed to be strong for Alice, but fears were creeping into me as I realized Alice's lips were turning a pale shade of blue.

"I-I-I'm sorry Lucy," Alice whispered, the regret heavy in her tone. "I . . . I don't wanna die."

I fell to my knees and clutched her close to me. "It's okay. I'm sorry too. But you ain't gonna die. I won't let ya die. It ain't gonna happen, no sir-ee, not on my watch."

"I love you," she whispered into the frosty fabric of my overalls.

I pressed my forehead down against her fiery red hair. "I love you too." I wouldn't let her die, I _couldn't._ It would be all my fault.

 **Jack's Perspective**

I'd fallen asleep on my couch, a half-finished portrait of Rose resting on top of my chest. A sharp rap on my door startled me awake, and the sketchbook tumbled to the hardwood floor with a bang when I abruptly sat up. This . . . this was not morning.

"What . . . who'satthedoor?" I slurred as I stumbled through my living room. Peeking at the clock along the way, I discovered it was only three A.M. Who had the audacity to knock on my door at this hour was beyond me.

I threw the door open, not in the mood to be welcoming, and blinked the sleep out of my eyes once I noticed the town sheriff standing on my porch. "Is there a problem, Officer? The hour's not exactly . . . preferable."

"Are you Mr. Jack Dawson?" the officer asked, flipping open his notebook. This appeared to already be an interrogation, but for what?

"Last time I checked," I forced a little humor in the situation, but he didn't even attempt a smile. This had to be serious. "May I ask what this is about?" His somber demeanor was putting me a little on edge.

"I'm here in regard to two missing persons under the names of Alissa and Lucille Dawson. It has come to my understanding that you were one of the last people to encounter the children," he said, rather straightforwardly, as if he assumed I had something to do with it.

My breath caught in my throat. Missing? As in . . . they could be hurt? Kidnapped? Or . . . worse? Words wanted to elude me, but I needed to know the truth. "W-when did they go missing?"

"Their mother reported them missing a few hours ago. Have you seen them recently, Mr. Dawson?" He tapped the cap of his pen against his notepad pointedly, prompting me to answer.

"No, I walked them home at around three or so yesterday afternoon because they had detention with me, but that was the last time I saw them." I worriedly raked my fingers through my tangled locks of bed-hair. "Do you have any leads, Officer?"

"Their mother reported them missing a couple hours ago after an alleged argument between her and Lucille. Nobody's seen them since. We're arranging our search party. With this lighting and the snow, it isn't easy to look for them-"

"The mother reported it _two hours ago_ , and you're only just forming the search party? So, you're already giving up?" I accused of him.

He had the nerve to look offended. Nearly growling, he refuted, "We are not giving up on them, we merely don't have the resources for a search party. In case you haven't noticed, it's three in the morning and snowing. We're currently forming a search team, but with these unfavorable conditions, it takes more time than usual. This isn't preferable for anyone, Mr. Dawson."

My brain was bombarded with terrible scenarios the girls could be stuck in. It was taking everything in me not to slap the officer for being so heartless. Not _preferable?_ Two little girls were _missing!_

"So, you're saying that you are going to let two lost little girls _remain_ lost because you don't have the resources. They could be freezing to death or worse and you are going to do nothing." At this point I was almost yelling, but I couldn't help myself. People were so cold at times, only doing what was best for themselves.

"Mr. Dawson, I know you're new around here, so I will let it slide this one time, but show me this disrespect again and you will find yourself in lock-up for the night. Now, go back to bed and if they aren't back in the morning, I will let you know, so you can join the search party-"

"I'm not waiting for any damn search party!" I shouted in his face, interrupting the officer. "If no one in this goddamn town is gonna do anything, then I will. I ain't such a dick to leave two kids out on their own in the dead of night, _freezing!_ " He took a half a step back to stay clear of my rage zone.

"You better check yourself, Mr. Dawson, I'm 'bout ready to not be so forgiving," he threatened. All of my self-control was being strained, just so I wouldn't outright deck him and get myself arrested.

"Oh, oh, I'm so _sorry_ I can't be as soulless as the lot of you. Sorry if having a heart is inconvenient for you in anyway, _Officer_." The logic part of my brain was telling me that I was being overdramatic and these were not my kids, so why should I care as much as I did, but the emotional part of my was spinning out of control.

"Mr. Dawson-"

Slamming the door shut was sadly, most likely, the smartest thing I had done in that conversation. Better to end it rough and pay later, then get my ass hauled off to jail for going too far with words. I was needed now.

Without much thought, I began rushing around my home, layering up for the cold, preparing to search for the girls. If I didn't do it, then no one would have, it was the brutal truth. I grabbed a flashlight, two blankets, and stuffed a pack of food and a thermos of lightly heated water into my book bag, before rushing out the door and into the snowing night.

The bitter iciness was like a slap to the face. Memories of Rose fading from my view as I sunk into the cold abyss, unable to move or protest, flooded my memory. It seemed so real. _I'll never let go_ , she told me. The phrase, engrained in my mind forever. That phrase brought me back to the present. I couldn't let myself go, or Lucy and Alice would have no one. I needed to stay strong for them.

Marching toward my lone man mission, I realized I would do no good heading in a random direction in hopes of randomly happening upon the girls. _Nice plan, me,_ I thought furiously to myself. I had known the girls for only an afternoon, how was I supposed to know where they might have gone?

 _Think, Jack, think!_ In my head, I reviewed every word I shared with the girls, trying to remember if they said anything or did anything, that might tell me where they would have gone. Then it hit me: the woods.

Not only did Lucy tell me about how she liked to climb trees, but when I was a kid and occasionally would run off, I would always head for the woods. I felt as though the trees were my guardians, and they protected me. Now, I couldn't be sure the girls would be foolish enough to run off into the forest in the middle of the night during a snowstorm, but I had to check. Nobody else would.

Choosing not to waste anymore time, I half-ran into the woods. Reaching the edge, I began to make my arduous journey into the long and freezing night.

 **Lucy's Perspective**

The blinding cold numbed my every sense. I couldn't even remember what warmth felt like, and if I never made it out of here, then I realized I'd never know again.

That was when I felt like crying, but I didn't have the energy anymore.

"A-Alice?" I mumbled into the pile of sleet. "A-A-Alice, w-we h-h-have t-t-t-to s-s-t-tay a-awake." She didn't respond, so I forced myself to lift my head and arms out of the snow. "A-Alice?"

Her skin was ice cold, her lips a pale blue, her beautiful eyes were shut, and even her fiery hair didn't look so bright anymore. It was like she lost everything that made her . . . _Alice_. "A-Alice?" Hot tears blurred my vision, and I shook her by her unmoving shoulders. " _Alice!_ W-wake up! A-Alice, wake up!"

My twin didn't wake up. This was _all_ my fault. If I hadn't dragged her into the woods into the first place, then she wouldn't be freezing right now. She wouldn't be . . . wouldn't be . . . "A-A-Alice, p-please don't b-b-be dead! _W-wake up-p!"_

Alice refused to budge, and I sobbed into her thin little dress. "N-no, p-p-please Alice, w-w-wake up. . . ."

She couldn't be dead. No, she _couldn't_ be. I didn't kill her. I didn't kill my sister. But as she still remained still, I choked out, "I'm s-s-so s-sorry, A-Alice! I-I-I k-killed you! I d-didn't m-mean to!" I buried my face into her cold, cold shoulder and whispered in my smallest voice, "P-please wake u-up."

"Lucy?" I couldn't muster up the strength to lift my head, even as the strange, masculine voice echoed in the distance. "Alice?"

It was Jack. _Jack_ was here to save us. He was here to save my sister. "We're h-here," I croaked, but I could barely hear _myself_. "W-we're here, help us!"

"Alice? Lucy? Are you there?"

In my last desperate ploy for survival, I lifted up my head one final time and noticed the tall tree near me- its lowest branch a weak, brittle thing, straining under the weight of the impossible pounds of snow. It wouldn't be able to stay up much longer.

Breathing hard with the effort, used my numb fingers to dig through the snow like a rabid dog, breathing a sigh of powerful relief as my palm connected with a rock. Using all my might, I leaned backwards and hurtled the rock right at the branch, and watched with satisfaction as it snapped. It landed to the ground with an ear-shattering _thud._

All I could do was wriggle my way back to Alice and wrap my arms around her in hopes to warm her up, before the last of my strength slipped away and everything went black.

 **Jack's Perspective**

A loud thud from the eastward side caught my attention, and without thinking it through, I raced over there as fast I could through the piling feet of snow. It was all the direction I had.

Sure enough, two vivid colors invaded my vision. One head of flaming red, and one head of rich golden blonde. It was them! I found Lucy and Alice! "Lucy, Alice," I panted as I skidded next to them, onto my knees.

They were unresponsive, hugging their little stuffed toys, and my heart shot into my throat. "No, no, no!" I pressed my palms down on each one of their foreheads, and winced at the bitter cold. "No, you can't be dead, you can't be dead. I won't let you be dead!"

I searched blindly for a pulse, grabbing each of them by their little wrists, and yelled out in jubilance as I found a faint pulse from each of them. "Oh thank _God_ \- you're alive." I kissed each of their hands in elation.

I only needed a second to understand what happened. Alice must've fallen unconscious first, by the death grip Lucy had on her twin. There were sticky tear tracks on Lucy's face, and I deduced that the poor girl must have been unable to wake up her sister.

Sitting down on an icy log, I ever so carefully lifted them up next to me, cocooning them with the blankets I brought. "Okay, come on girls, wake up for me. _Please_ , you have to wake up for me." I held Alice's limp head in my hands. "Alice? Alice, c'mon baby, you can do this. Wake up for me! I know you've got it in you, you're _strong_." Her head lolled, and I smacked her cheeks a few times.

I did the same for Lucy, slapping her cheeks gently to coax her awake. "Please wake up, Lucy, _please_." I found myself getting choked up as I brought them to my chest for warmth, fiercely rubbing the blanket against their small bodies. "I won't lose you. I _can't_ lose you. I just . . . I just _can't_."

I couldn't explain why I cared about them so much. They were only girls I had issued a single detention for. But . . . they were so much more. I didn't know if it was because I was lonely, or they reminded me of Rose's fiery attitude. The bond we shared was unfathomable, all I knew is that I _refused_ to let them die. If they did . . . then I just didn't know what I would do.

"J-Jack?" It was the faintest murmur, but I heard it. Lucy's lips parted almost imperceptibly, but I saw it. Lucy was back.

That sweet little sound filled my heart with such joy that I couldn't help but let tears freely flow down my face, and I clutched her even tighter to my chest.

"It's me, sweetheart. I've got you. Don't worry, everything is gonna be okay," I told her, attempting to keep the worry from my voice for her sake. Alice still had yet to even stir, and their lips were so blue, skin so pale.

Across my vision flashed images of Rose, her delicate skin turning sheet white, her red hair frozen like ice, and her lips, oh her lips, so _blue_. Seeing Alice was like watching Rose before my eyes, turning into ice right before my eyes. These innocent little girls deserved no such fate.

"A-A-Alice?" she whispered, turning her head just enough to see her twin's still form. Her eyes held so much terror, my heart ripped into two. "A-Alice, w-wake up!"

"She'll be okay, baby, but you gotta stay with me. Alice is gonna need you when she wakes up. Plus, who am I going to teach my brilliant art skills to if I don't have you?" What little I have learned about Lucy is she loved a challenge and she loved to joke, and at this point there wasn't much more I could give her.

She managed a bleak smile. Luckily, with the warm blanket she had at least ceased shivering as hard, but she still trembled. "I'm so cold, J-Jack," she whimpered, and I worked harder to chafe the blanket against her. "Is Alice dead?" she asked so directly my heart nearly stuttered to a stop.

Just then, the friction of the blanket against Alice's skin must have done wonders, because her eyelids fluttered open. Even if it was for a fraction of a second before they closed again. "Alice!" Lucy cried, cupping her cheek and caressing it with her thumb. "Jack, she opened her eyes! Diddya see?"

"Yeah, Lucy, I saw. Alice is going to be okay." I mentally debated how the next part was going to happen. I had to take Alice to a doctor, but with the blankets, food, and thermos of warm water, I couldn't carry both of them. "Lucy, I need you to do something for your sister."

"Anything."

I smiled at her unwavering loyalty. "I'm going to need to carry her out of the forest, and I'm going to need you to help me. Can you hold this flashlight for me? And I need you to hold my hand at all times, so I know you're sticking with me. Can you do that for me?"

Lucy nodded strongly, determinedly. "I ain't stupid. I can do that." I knew she could, I had no doubt about it. She was too stubborn for any other option.

But, soon enough, I knew she couldn't. I guided her up to a standing position, but almost as soon as she was upright, her knees buckled out from underneath her and she collapsed into the snow. It wasn't surprising, either. She obviously had her own case of hypothermia.

"It's okay, Lucy," I sighed as she let out a cry of frustration, trying to stand once more. "We're going to have to work this a little differently."

"N-no," she ground out, slamming the side of her fist against the frozen log for good measure. "I-I can d-do it. I _have_ to, for A-Alice."

"No, you can't, and we both know it." She glared up at me, but I didn't budge from my stance. I had wanted to keep the food and warmed water in case Alice had woken up, but I knew now that it wasn't as anywhere near as important as getting both girls back to safety. So, I tossed both items to the side.

I ended up holding both Alice and Lucy underneath their bottoms, both their heads resting on my shoulders and Lucy firmly gripping their stuffed animals, and Alice's dress and blanket so she wouldn't topple over. "Stay with me," I murmured into Alice's ear, unsure of whether or not she could hear me. "We're going to get you help real soon. You just gotta stay with me. You haveta stay with me."

Lucky for me, the town doctor didn't live too far off from the woods and I made it there in good time. It was still dark out, so I couldn't have been gone more than an hour in total.

Using my foot, I banged urgently on the door of the local doctor's home until an older-looking man opened the door. He looked to have just woken up, but once he saw my precious cargo, he assured me in.

"Get them on the tables now!" he urged, before racing into the back room, coming out quickly with heavier blankets.

I followed his orders without thought and placed each girl on the tables that were located in the center of the room. Lucy climbed from my arms onto the table rigidly, so I could lay Alice down with both arms.

"What happened to them?" the doctor asked, placing each thick blanket over both girls.

"I don't know the details, all I know is that I found them out in the freezing cold. They were pale and had blue lips. Alice stirred, but never woke up and Lucy has been awake since I found them, but not strong enough to stand."

The doctor nodded, and told me to keep warming them up as he prepared a warm meal and hot water.

"Please wake up, Alice," Lucy whimpered to her twin as I chafed the blankets against them both. " _Please_. I'll do anythin', I promise." She despairingly fiddled with Alice's icy curls of ginger hair. In the breathiest whisper (I almost didn't hear it), she sang low and husky into her Alice's ear, "Come Josephine, in my flying machine-"

My heart must've forgotten how to beat, and I nearly dropped dead. "How do you know that song?" I interrupted her.

"Mom sings it to us as a lullaby sometimes." Right, her mother. The red-haired woman from the window. The red-haired woman who knew the song of Rose and I, the red-haired woman with two daughters, one with a head of ginger and the other blonde- "You wanna sing it with me?"

I nodded faintly, not trusting myself to reply. "Come Josephine, in my flying machine," we crooned together, "going up she goes! Up she goes! Balance yourself like a bird on a beam, in the air she goes! There she goes! Up, up, a little bit higher. Oh! My! The moon is on fire. Come Josephine, in my flying machine-"

Alice's eyelids ever so slowly peeled open, and the tiniest smile blessing her blue lips, she rasped, "Going up, all on, goodbye."

A grin threatened to rip my face apart as Lucy dove forward to hug the life out of her. "Alice, oh Alice, you're awake! I promise, I promise, I _promis_ e, I'll never let go!"

Something inside of me broke at her words. _I'll never let go_. _I'll never let go. I'll never let go_. Before I knew it, I was clutching both girls against me in a death grip. There was just something about him that was so, so _familiar._

Suddenly, I was underwater again, sinking, sinking, sinking . . . Rose's beautiful, heartbroken face looking down at me as I fought to open my mouth, tell her I wasn't dead, beg her not to let me go as I drifted downward. "I'll never let go, Jack."

I wondered if she was happy. I dearly hoped so. Rose deserved to be happy. "Don't let each other go," I murmured against their temples. "Don't let go. Promise me that."

"We promise," they said ever so softly, and for the first time in the longest time, I was at peace.

 **A/N: So, what'd you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let us know! When's Rose going to find them? How will they react to her? When will Rose reunite with Jack?**


	6. Mama Bear

**A/N: Guess what, guess what, guess what? Today's our first day of summer, so that means we'll be able to write way more! Yay, we finished freshman year of high school! We worked really hard on this chapter for you guys, and we really hope you enjoy it. It's a Rose perspective, which we thought was needed after her unfortunate incident with the girls. You'll soon see why this chapter is named "Mama Bear."**

 **Thanks sooooo much for all the support, you guys! It's amazing, and we love you all. Keep being you, and we hope you all have a fantastic summer! Don't work too hard ;). Without further ado, please read, review, and enjoy! Thanks so much! :D**

 **Chapter 5: Mama Bear**

 **Rose's Perspective**

When the sheriff told me my daughters were found, I was a woman on a mission. Only staying to hear their location, I was off, racing through the town like a hoard of angry bees were chasing me. _They have to be okay. They have to be okay. They have to be okay_.

If they weren't okay, then I would never forgive myself. Because I couldn't keep my grief and brokenness to myself, I hurt my daughter. Little Lucy. She was a strong girl, resilient to my sending her away to often. It was hard to remember sometimes that she was vulnerable too. Alice was a sweet and sensitive girl, easily offended and bothered, but Lucy had a tougher skin. And I realized I had been taking that for granted.

"I'm a terrible mother," I whispered to myself, blinking away hot tears. I didn't deserve to cry anymore, not after what I did to my daughters.

The town doctor wasn't far now, with how quickly I was trudging through the sleet and snow. The harsh environment wasn't enough to stop me from finding my girls.

I vaguely noticed people around me, but I was seeing through tunnel vision as I approached the doctor's house. In my haste, I bumped into a slender man, but I didn't stop to look back, only muttering a quick, "Sorry," on my way by. All I caught a glimpse of was a flop of blonde hair.

"Don't worry about it- hey, wait!" There was something achingly familiar about his voice, but I didn't have time to turn around. Lucy and Alice needed me.

 **Jack's Perspective**

I was just going outside for fresh air. The girls were going to be okay, and that's all that mattered. They were going to be all right.

I trudged forward through the snow, regretting my decision to come outside and losing myself in my own thoughts, when a woman slammed into my shoulder, knocking me to the side. I snapped my head up as she breathed, "Sorry," but she was already ahead, so I couldn't see her face.

I shot out an automatic, "Don't worry about it," but then something about her struck a chord in me. Her hair. Curls of such a vivid, flaming red . . . "Hey, wait!"

She didn't turn around, so I followed her. No, it couldn't be. She was a red-haired woman, that was _it._ Was I really so self-centered to assume it was Rose? Why did _everything_ remind me of her? Rose was not the only woman in the world with red hair. Even with that rich, unusual shade . . . I shook my head angrily, ridding myself of my ridiculous thoughts, but . . . I followed her anyway.

She darted into the house, and I peered into the doorway. "Mommy!" Alice yelped from inside, and the red-haired woman ran to her daughters in a speed faster than I'd ever witnessed.

As they embraced, I slunk away from the doorway. The girls were in safe hands now. They didn't need me. I did my job. I was their teacher, nothing more, and I would see them back at school again soon enough. It still didn't explain my connection with them, though. But as I walked down the road, away from the house, all I could think about was that red-haired woman.

 **Rose's Perspective**

"My beautiful babies," I sang softly to myself as I walked my girls home. Well, I carried little Alice and her stuffed dolphin. Lucy didn't want to be carried; she was perfectly content walking a fair distance away from me with her stuffed octopus. I wasn't going to pretend that didn't hurt, but I couldn't very well blame her.

"I love you, Mommy," Alice sighed into my hair, and I kissed the crown of her head.

"I love you too, baby. Never doubt that." I looked forward at Lucy's head of bouncing golden curls. "I love you too, Lucy."

She didn't respond. It was difficult to tell whether she just didn't hear, or was angry enough at me to ignore it. My gut told me it was the latter. "Lucy, did you hear me? I love you, baby."

"I heard you, Mom," she replied cooly. A sharp sensation stabbed through my heart. That right there was one of the many differences between my daughters. Alice was innocent and soft-spoken, but Lucy knew how to twist the knife. Yet, that also came in reverse. When Alice was hurting, she would wail it out for the world to hear, but for Lucy, she preferred to suffer in silence. That was an aspect of Lucy I could relate to quite well.

I had a lot of damage to mend, for both of them. I never meant to hurt them, no, I loved them to the end of the world, but I ended up leaving them with emotional scars anyway. The previous evening forced me to realize that by losing myself in my grief, I ostracized my own daughters. And they didn't even know why, because I refused to tell them about their father. About Jack.

And that was so, so selfish of me. "Girls, can we talk?" I pleaded as I situated Alice on the couch next to me once we arrived at the house. Lucy still remained a careful distance away. "Please? I need to apologize."

Alice looked up at me with those soulful blue eyes- Jack's eyes. "You don't need to apologize, Mommy. I forgive you." My chest felt suddenly tight as I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her slender form. I was so, so thankful for her kindness.

"I don't," Lucy said bluntly, unapologetically. Nobody could say that the girl didn't have a backbone. I motioned for her to come closer, but she stayed glued to her spot.

"Lucy, baby, I'm so sorry." I only hoped she could hear the sincerity of my voice, so she knew I wasn't lying. Lucy didn't like lying- period. Not from herself, and not from anyone else, either. _Except_ when Lucy was hurting, then she could lie just fine to my face, and tell me she was all right. "What I did to you was wrong. So wrong. All I can say is that I wasn't in my right mind. But that's no excuse, and I'm so, so sorry."

Slowly but surely, she inched toward me. I took that as a good sign. "Lucy, why did you and Alice run away last night when it was so cold?" Not an accusation, I just wanted to ensure it would never happen again.

"I wanted to protect Alice," Lucy told me point-blank, and for a moment, I couldn't breathe. Protect Alice . . . from me?

"From me?" I croaked out before I could stop myself.

"Yes," Lucy said with an atypical iciness. "From you. You hurt me. I couldn't let you hurt Alice." Her expression was blank and impassive, but her eyes told me everything. They told me a tale of her anger, confusion, but most of all . . . her pain. My baby girl was in pain.

Why Lucy took it upon herself to be Alice's knight in shining armor always bemused me. She was the older twin, yes, but only by a minute. Yet, Lucy would gladly throw herself in harm's way for her slightly younger sister, and thus, Alice worshipped the ground she walked on. It was an odd little relationship they'd developed, but mostly, they were simply best friends.

"Did you think I would hurt Alice?" I didn't want to know the answer, but I had to ask. Poor Alice had her head buried in my side, most likely not wanting to relive the evening. But I had to know.

Lucy stared at me for a long moment, and I felt vulnerable under the weight of judgement in her gaze. ". . . Yes." Her brutal honesty was both a blessing and a curse. For one, she always told the real story when both of them were in trouble, but she also didn't mince any words. Perhaps the only reason she would lie, besides covering up her hurt, would be what it ultimately fell to: protecting Alice.

"Why?" I could hardly raise a voice above a whisper. "Lucy, you have to know I would never hurt your sister. And I _never_ meant to hurt you. Never. And I _never_ will again."

"But you did," she said evenly and calmly, strangely different from her typical hot-headed self. I almost would have preferred it if she were yelling and crying, instead of these emotionless accusations. "You did hurt me. So, all the times you said you wouldn't hurt us was a lie. That means you're a liar. I couldn't and _can't_ believe that you wouldn't hurt Alice, because you're a liar. That means I can't trust you."

My heart snapped into two, and with everything in me, I worked to suppress a new round of sobs. No, I had to be strong for Lucy. For too damn long, those girls had to support me while I was weak. No more.

"You scared me, Mommy," came a tiny whimper from my side. "I was really scared." _Oh, Alice . . ._

What kind of mother was I? Not only did my children distrust me, but they were _frightened_ of me. How could I have fallen so far?

I needed to fix this. "Lucy, come here, please." She stayed as as still as a statue. "Lucy, _please._ " Reluctantly, she slid in the space on the couch next to Alice, and I steeled myself for what was to come. "Girls, what I did was very wrong. And Lucy, I didn't mean to hurt you. I promise you that. It was an accident, but that doesn't make it okay. Is there _anything_ I can do to earn your trust again?"

Lucy slipped into her typical coping mechanism- collapsing in on herself and falling dreadfully silent. Sweet Alice answered quietly, gently for her, "Don't ever hurt Lucy again."

I launched at them with an enormous embrace, and thank all the deities, Lucy didn't pull away. "I am so, so sorry that I did that, and so sorry that I've made you afraid of me. I will _never_ hurt you again. You _never_ have to be afraid of me. I'm your mother, I'm here to protect and love you, and I'm so sorry I made you feel anything other than protected and loved."

Lucy, unsurprisingly didn't speak, but Alice piped up, "Do we have to go school?"

I chuckled, then shook my head. _Her priorities can be strange sometimes._ "No, baby. You don't need to go to school today. Today, we're going to have a fun day. And how about start off this fun day with hot chocolate?"

"Yay!" Alice squealed, bouncing up and down in place, and Lucy smiled half-heartedly. It was going to take longer to earn her forgiveness- she was a stubborn little thing. But I deserved it, after what I did to her.

We all sipped at our searing hot chocolate at the table, when Lucy spoke up softly, "Why did you get so upset over my sketchbook? I know my teacher's name is Jack, but ya know, lots of people are named Jack," she informed me importantly. At least she wasn't silent anymore.

"Lucy, don't," Alice hissed over to her twin. "She'll get sad again." My already broken heart crumpled into dust. They felt like they had to walk on eggshells around me. _I have to fix this, I have to fix this_.

"Right," Lucy grumbled with a dark scowl set firmly in place. It clashed with her angelic features. "We'll never know, then." I opened my mouth as to speak, then closed it again, wordless.

Lucy then unleashed her emotions and exploded on me. "I know it makes you real sad that he's dead and I'm sorry that he's dead because he seemed like a real nice man, but I don't know 'cause you won't tell us! He was our dad too, but he ain't even a story to us! We never got to meet him, so it ain't damn fair that you won't tell us anythin' 'bout him!" Alice cowered away from her, burying her face in her hands, but Lucy's blazing blue eyes bore straight into me.

Normally, I would chide her on her language and disrespect, but she had a solid argument. If I backed out now, then we would be right where we were before. They had a right to know about their father. "Lucy . . . you're right." She blinked in surprise. "Your father . . . Jack . . . was an artist as well. That's why I reacted so poorly to the sketchbook. You look just like him already, and then with the art . . . It was too much. But baby, if you like art, then I want you to do it. I'm proud of you, and I _know_ your father would be proud of you, too. You too, Alice."

Lucy gradually internalized my words, but Alice's ears perked up and she exclaimed, "Really, Mom? You think he woulda been proud of us?" The hope and happiness pulsing from her touched me, soothed my soul. _So beautifully hopeful._

"If I'm not sure of anything in this world, I'm _sure_ that your father would be proud of you, just as I am. He's in heaven, smiling down at you. He's so, so proud of you."

Alice beamed at me, and even Lucy's face spread apart in a bright smile. It was dawning on me how much they needed to hear this. I should have told them long, long ago. They shouldn't have been trapped in a world of unknowns and doubts, when I could have so easily set it straight for them. "I love Daddy. Even though I never met him, I love him."

Sweet, sweet Alice brought tears to my eyes, but the deal was cinched when Lucy added, "I love him too. I hope he loves us too, up in the sky. Do you think he loves us, Mom?"

I carefully wiped the moisture from my eyes as I replied wholeheartedly, "I have no doubt that he loves you very much."

For once, it was _Lucy_ that shared her feelings, and it made me realize how often she closed herself off. She carefully locked her emotions and insecurities behind a thick stone wall. I vowed to change that. "Why do I miss him? I can't miss him if I never met him, it don't make any sense . . . but I do miss him."

"Sweetheart, of _course_ you can miss him!" Doubt shadowed over Lucy's features, but Alice seemed to be lapping up my encouragement. "He should be here right now, he should be your father, and that's what you miss. You're sad that you never got to know him. But believe me, he would have _adored_ you both. You would've made him _so_ happy."

"Would he have protected us, too?" Alice asked innocently. "From mean teachers?"

This had to be the missing puzzle piece from the day before, what neither of them wanted to tell me. I knew _something_ happened at the school, because even Lucy was lying to me about what they'd been up to. And I had a feeling it wasn't _just_ because their teacher's name was Jack. "What happened at school yesterday? You can tell me anything, you know that."

"The principal paddled us," Alice blurted out and my heart stuttered then skipped a beat. _My sweet girls were . . . ?_ "'Cause we got in trouble."

"He _paddled_ you?" I managed to choke out. The thought of a grown man repeatedly striking my small children with a slab of wood sickened me. "How many times?"

Lucy quieted down again, so Alice chose to answer for her. "Two, but he paddled Lucy seven times. That's what she told me. I was only there for the last two."

Seven times. Seven times?! Lucy was a little girl! " _Seven times?_ " I gasped, burning bile rising to the back of my throat. I wanted to throw up. "He hit you _seven times?_ "

Lucy shrugged, brushing it off as she did with most things, but I refused to let her. "No, Lucy, please explain to me how the principal could justify hitting you seven times."

"It was only five at first," she explained almost indifferently, "but Alice got four and I didn't think it was fair, so I got two of hers."

 _Oh._ Lucy's sacrifices for her sister never ceased to amaze me. "Oh, Lucy . . ."

Lucy just shrugged again. "She didn't deserve it, Mom."

I had to know what happened to look at this objectively. "What were the events that led up to this?"

"Our teacher tried to take my dolphin!" An adorable pout formed on Alice's face. "Lucy told her not to, so she smacked her on the hand with a ruler, but then she got real mad and hit Lucy on the face."

 _Excuse me?!_ That was it. I. Was. Done. "Did I hear you right, Alice?" It took everything in me not to spit it out. "She slapped Lucy across the _face?_ "

"Yeah," Alice lamented, "and Lucy fell, too. Everyone was staring, Mom. It was real bad. The teacher was so mad, I thought she was gonna really hurt Lucy. Then she sent Lucy to the principal's office 'cause she wanted to be even more mean. She's real mean, Mom, but you know that. I was real upset and said a bad word on accident, and she put soap in my mouth that tasted real bad, and I couldn't breathe so I bit her and then she sent me to the principal's office too."

I turned to Lucy for confirmation, and she just nodded mutely. That bitch of a teacher slapped my daughter, and basically choked my other one. There was no way in _hell_ I was going to stand for that.

I stood up abruptly. "C'mon, girls, let's go on a field trip. We're going up to the school."

The blood drained from Alice's already pale face. "Mommy, I don't know if-"

"Alice, baby," I interrupted smoothly, "I'm not going to let this slide. You two do _not_ deserve to be treated this way, and it's about time someone told this."

I wrapped the girls up in proper winter attire. At this point, I had spent several hours at the doctor's office as the girls fully recovered, so school had already started. _Perfect_.

"Are you going to yell at them, Mom?" Lucy asked me apprehensively as we trodden along the snowy path.

"No, Lucy, I'm going to talk to them." I smirked down at her secretively. "Loudly." Both girls giggled, and that was when I knew everything was going to be okay between the three of us.

Luckily for us, school ended up being cancelled. The teachers, though, were still there as the secretary told me. They were supposed to leave in about an hour. _Plenty of time._

Upon the secretary's request, the principal exited his office. I bared my teeth in a gesture that _could_ be interpreted as a smile, but was more akin to a snarl. He fidgeted in place nervously. "Ah, Ms. Dawson." He looked down at Lucy and Alice, and faked a smile of his own. "Lucille, Alissa, how wonderful it is to see you today!" The bastard of a man thought he could trick me with pretty lies? _Ha. He won't know what hit him._

They looked up at him with sheer and blatant disbelief, as if seriously questioning his intelligence (they weren't alone, there) and that was answer enough on its own. He shifted his attention up to me after his smile faded away. "So, Ms. Dawson, I heard about the events last night. Terrible, just terrible. That snowstorm was a doozy all right. It's supposed to last all through the day, maybe longer. I'm so glad the girls are okay."

"Mmmm, yes." _I'm sure you're "so glad."_ I was in no mood for pleasant formalities, or small talk. It was time to get down to business. "Mr. Seers, I would like to arrange a meeting between you and Miss Stevenson, if it wouldn't be a trouble." I made it clear in my tone that I didn't care if it was a trouble or not, the meeting was going to happen and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Mr. Seers very easily picked up on that, so he didn't even bother to protest.

Five minutes later, the three of us adults were standing stiffly in Miss Stevenson's classroom while Lucy and Alice waited outside, playing in the snow. "Ms. Dawson," Miss Stevenson sighed as if she were oh so pained that I dragged her away from grading papers, "Lucille is a troublemaker. She was very rude to me, and I do not tolerate this in my class. Period."

She thought this was over? How adorable of her. I hadn't even started yet. She would _know_ when this was over, because it would be on _my_ terms. "From what I've heard, you've been bullying my daughters this entire school year." She opened her mouth to rebut, but I turned to the principal and questioned pointedly, "Do you find it appropriate for Miss Stevenson to repeatedly call Lucy stupid because math doesn't come easily for her?" I'd been told countless stories of _that_.

Miss Stevenson averted her eyes from mine. _Checkmate, bitch._ Mr. Seers dragged his hand down over his face, taking extra time to rub at his eyelids. "No, that's not appropriate. But I don't think that's the real issue here-"

That wasn't a real issue?! Instantly, I believed everything the girls ever told me about these two. No caring adult could be so blithe about this situation. No caring adult would condone belittling a child who struggled in a subject, and make her feel worthless for it. _No more._ "Well, here's another issue, if you don't care to talk about _this_ one. But if you call Lucy stupid again, or make her feel bad about herself one more time, then you _will_ be hearing from me. On a different subject, yesterday's predicament all started because you refused to let Alice have her stuffed dolphin. She is _seven_ years old, and-"

"It has no place in the classroom," Miss Stevenson sniffed. "You ought to be training her against it, Ms. Dawson." _What a snob._ She was a small-town elementary school teacher, she had no place to look down on me. And no, she did _not_ just interrupt me.

"She is a very anxious and sensitive child," I addressed her coldly and bitingly. "It soothes her, calm her down. If it doesn't distract the rest of the class, then what's the damn problem?" Miss Stevenson edged away from me, her lips curling up into a nasty sneer. _Don't play this game with me, woman. I'll win. I've played against the very best._ She'd never met my mother. If I could handle her, then I could handle this piece of work.

"Ms. Dawson," the principal attempted to placate me, putting his hands up in a defensive gesture. "I believe you're getting too worked up over this."

"I haven't even started!" I said a little too loudly, trying to reel myself in. _Deep breaths, deep breaths, if you blow up on them, they'll probably die of terror_. I internally chuckled at my own thoughts. "But let me start on _you,_ Mr. Seers, thank you for shifting my attention to yet _another_ pressing issue. I understand corporal punishment is allowed at this school. I don't like it, but I understand it. But you hit Lucy _seven times_. In what world is this okay? She's a _little girl_. How would you feel if somebody more than twice your size beat you with a slab of wood?" _Pretty damn bad, I'd be willing to wager._

"She earned five," he replied tiredly, as if this entire conversation was inconveniencing him. _I'm so sorry you don't like talking about abusing my daughter._ "Alice earned four, and Lucy took two for her. I thought the deal was fair."

I gaped at the awful, idiotic man. "You thought the deal was fair?" I echoed dryly and sarcastically. "That makes me feel so much better, thank you." He lowered his head and groaned. "They. Are. Seven. Lucy is extremely protective of her sister, of _course_ she would offer to take part of the punishment! That doesn't mean you _let_ her! They are the children, and you are the adult. How could you let this _happen?_ "

"Now, Ms. Dawson, that's not fair-"

I suppressed the urge to snap at him like a hungry crocodile. _And drown him too, while I'm at it. Death by my crocodile jaws, or lack of oxygen. Whichever comes first._ "I didn't need you to tell me this, Mr. Seers, believe you me. I _know_ this isn't fair."

"This is getting out of hand," Mr. Seers grumbled. Turning back to me, he attempted to make himself out to be in the right, "Ms. Dawson, I respect your concern for your children, I really do. That being said, last time I checked, you understood our school's discipline rules upon enrolling them in this school. If you do not agree with the rules, fine, remove them, but until then you need to respect them."

I didn't have to look in a mirror to tell my face was bright red. This pompous ass refused to consider he was wrong and instead of editing his problem, he made it my fault. Men could never accept their fault. He reminded me of Cal. _Ugh, I don't even want to THINK about him._

However furious I was, this was the only school in the area the girls could go, so my options were this or home school, and I couldn't afford not to work. I took a long moment to consider my words before responding, "Okay, fine. You think you're in the right. I _know_ I'm right. I just ask that you think it through next time you consider targeting my daughters again."

Mr. Seers appeared to approve of this motion for a moment, then his partner in crime decided to add her two cents in. "Ms. Dawson, if you would just discipline your girls at home like a good parent, then we wouldn't have this problem. I understand their father is absent, and so it must be very hard on you," her tone was dripping with sarcasm, "but we're here to teach the children, not fix the damage of their lives. I implore you to teach your children right from wrong. Surely you don't need a husband to do so. Unless of course, the rumors are true," her soulless eyes gleamed with victory and venom, "and you're raising a pair of bastards."

Logic flew _right_ out the door. And then it took a hike. A very, very long hike- where it got hopelessly lost. I spun around and slapped the teacher right across the face with as much force as I could muster. _How do you like me now, bitch?_

For a moment, the silence hung heavy in the air as Mr. Seers stared at me, evidently astonished at my actions, and Miss Stevenson just gaped at me, cupping her cheek delicately. Her cheek glowed a bright red and satisfaction seeped into my mind, but it was soon replaced by regret. I mean, slapping her I didn't regret, not at all. She deserved it, but doing it in school, in front of the principal? Definitely not my best move.

Well, the action was done, so if I was gonna go out, I decided to go out big. It was time to dish out the last ace up my sleeve. "You slapped my daughter across the face, and knocked her to the ground. It was about time somebody showed you how that feels. You can _never_ treat my children like that, do you hear me?" The teacher nodded vehemently.

"All right, all right, let's settle down here," the principal said while pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Miss Stevenson, your words were uncalled for, but Ms. Dawson, abuse is never the answer." _Says the man who would do the same to my daughters, and likes to beat them with a wooden implement._ "If you leave now, we will accept your daughters back at school when you deem them ready. I will ensure that Miss Stevenson does not treat your daughters as she has. We are done here, don't you think?"

Like I said before, we were going to end this little exchange on _my_ terms. "No, we're not. I think it would be best if Lucy and Alice are switched into the other second grade class, _don't you think?_ "

Miss Stevenson fumed, but Mr. Seers nodded wearily. "Agreed, Ms. Dawson. I'll move them by tomorrow. Now, are we _done_ here?"

I smiled at both of them without any form of humor. "Yeah, we're done here." Storming out of the classroom, I grabbed each daughter by one hand and dragged them alongside me. "Come on girls, we're going home. You don't have to worry about that teacher ever again."

"Miss Grumpy Pants is gone?" Alice chirped, a brand new spring in her step.

My lips curled up at the nickname. "Yes . . . Miss Grumpy Pants is gone."

"What about the principal, though?" Lucy asked, and I cringed. _Right, him._ That situation wasn't quite as resolved. . . . There wasn't much I could do there. Corporal punishment was legal, and there weren't any other elementary schools I could enroll them in. For now, this solution would have to work. If something else happened . . . then I would have to cross that bridge when I got there.

"Everything will be fine now, Lucy. I promise you that." She nodded resolutely. I pulled them closer to me, and they both leaned their heads against my sides. "Whatever happens, we're a family, and we can get through it. We can get through _anything_. We're together, and that's all that matters."

"I love you, Mom," both girls crooned up to me, and I beamed at them. They exchanged a meaningful look with one another before adding, "Even if Dad can't be here."

Looking up at the sky, my heart swelling with pride, and thought, _Oh Jack, we've made the most amazing daughters. I hope you're watching this, and I hope you're smiling. They would have loved you so, so much. I wish you could watch them grow up with me. You should've been here. Our family wouldn't have been perfect, but it would've been so, so happy. I'll raise them right, Jack. Since you can't be here, I hope you know that I'll love them enough for the both of us._

A single tear fell from my eye, but I wiped it away, smiling down at my daughters. "Everything's going to be okay."

 **A/N: So, what'd you guys think? We need to know :). Like it, love it, hate it? Did you like Mama Bear Rose with the teacher and principal? All we can say is that it isn't over. We're really sorry for teasing you with that potential Jack-Rose reunion. That wasn't very nice of us, was it? No, it wasn't. It won't be too long now, though! Please review! :D**


	7. Twisted Lies

**A/N: Muahahahahahahahahaha *cough* *cough* *gag*. Ahem. Sorry folks, we couldn't help the evil laughter. We just couldn't. You know why? Because we're evil. So evil, in fact, that we had Rose and Jack bump into each other without actually noticing. And because of our actions, we hurt you. Now, we'd like to be sorry for that, but WE GOT FOURTEEN NEW REVIEWS! Holy Shakespeare, you guys, we've never gotten so many reviews for a single installment! You guys are absolutely amazing, and we're evil. Seriously, though, thank you sooooooo much for all the support. We can't begin to tell you how much it means to us.**

 **Now, we have to warn you. This chapter contains a slightly graphic scene of abuse. It's not meant to be a "school punishment," it is, without a doubt, abuse that we absolutely do not condone, but is necessary for our plot.**

 **Second warning: This chapter has more swearing than any of the others, but considering the circumstances, you will see why.**

 **Now, for those of you who want Jack and Rose to reunite (which is all of you), it's extremely close now. In fact, there might even be a hint of it next chapter . . .**

 **Disclaimer: We've been forgetting to do this the entire freakin' time, but as you know, we don't own Titanic. If we owned Titanic, do you think Jack would've died? That answer to that is: oh hell naw.**

 **Anyway, without further ado, please read, review, enjoy, and try not to kill us for this chapter! Thanks so much! :D**

 **Chapter 6: Alice's Perspective**

School was opened again after two days, so it was already Friday. The snow wasn't completely cleared, but the sludge was enough to walk through. Lucy and I were placed in a different class, Miss Binney's class. She seemed nice enough. Anyone would be better than Miss Grumpy Pants.

Unlike before, where we would take the short cut through the woods, we decided that the long way would have to be good enough. No way were we going anywhere _near_ that forest again anytime soon.

Mom had to go to her play rehearsal, so she had to leave earlier than normal. That was okay, because I always loved to see her on stage. She looked so _happy_ , and more than anything in the whole wide world, I wanted her to be happy.

"Remember when we almost died?" Lucy brought up randomly on our walk to school, and I rolled my eyes at her. Her attempts at filling an uncomfortable silence always took a turn for the worse. "That was fun."

"Except the part where we almost died," I refuted, and she merely shrugged it off. It scared me that she wasn't phased by that. Scared me a lot. Every time I closed my eyes, I still remembered feeling so cold that I was _burning_. Maybe it was good she didn't remember, what did I know?

But I knew Lucy better than _anyone_. She was my twin, for Christ's sake. It was in my job description to be able to read her like a book. And I'd bet my entire life's savings, which didn't amount to much, that Lucy did remember. How could she not? It was only a few days before.

Lucy remembered _everything_. She would brush everything off, over and over and over again, but don't you dare tell me that she didn't remember. Lucy always pretended that the fall from the tree didn't hurt, or a scrape on her knee didn't sting, or her heart wasn't broken by my mom's rejections. I could always see right through her, and deep down, I think she needed that. She needed somebody to _notice_.

If she kept bottling everything up, though, I was damn near terrified she would just explode into a million pieces, and even I wouldn't be able to piece her back together.

"You think too much," came a distant tease from a faraway land, it felt like. Lucy elbowed me in the side. "I was only jokin'."

Right, she was only joking. Because that was what she did. Joke, joke, joke. Because if she didn't joke, she would cry. Sometimes she mocked me for crying a lot, but the only difference between the two of us was in that case was that she liked to _pretend_ that she didn't ever cry. For someone who held honesty so close to her heart, she sure faked and covered a whole lot.

"I just didn't think it was funny, that's all." Those awful tears pricked at my eyes. Maybe Lucy _was_ right, maybe I did cry too much. But I just couldn't help it sometimes. "I almost died, Lucy. I felt it. I really did. It was like I wasn't even in my own body no more. Like I was floatin' above it. It was real scary, so I don't think it's funny at all." The traitorous tears rolled down my cheeks.

Lucy sobered up in an instant. "You're right, it ain't funny. I . . . I almost lost you, Alice. If you died . . . I think I woulda died, too. Even if I didn't _really_. Without you, life doesn't matter. Without you, I'd rather be dead."

The thought of my twin being dead brought burning bile to my throat, and I wanted to throw up. I shouldered against her, so she would feel the wrath of my disapproval. "I don't want you to be dead. Even if I ain't there, I don't want you to be dead!"

Lucy shouldered me back, harder. More angry, too. She was _always_ more angry than me. "There ain't no living if you're not there!" she argued back, and I released a shuddering sob. I sure wasn't in the mood to head to school _now_.

Lucy was silent for a few moments until a dry, pained little smile touched her lips. "How about neither of us die? Mom's sad enough that Daddy's dead, if we died too, there'd be nothin' left of her."

I smiled back through my tears. "Yeah, how about neither of us die?" I hugged my stuffed dolphin close to my chest. _Neither of us will die. Everything will be okay, even if it ain't all okay right now_.

We were greeted on the playground by a hound of children, some friends, some mere strangers. "Is it true that your mom slapped Miss Grumpy Pants?" a boy around our age asked eagerly. Edward Smith, he sat two desks down from me- well, not anymore.

Mom finally admitted to us what happened in the meeting, so the answer to that was definitely _yes_. "Yeah, she did," Lucy replied a little too proudly. "Real hard, too."

"Miss Grumpy Pants went flyin' across the room," I exaggerated for effect, and everybody gasped. "Almost went straight through the wall!"

"All right, all right." We all lifted our heads to see none other than Jack Dawson heading towards us. "I know it's exciting, but don't let the principal overhear you." The children scattered back across the playground. Jack was grinning, though.

"Jack!" I squealed happily, running over to wrap my arms around his waist. He stiffened in surprise for a moment, but easily lifted me up so our heads were level with each other. Lucy climbed one of the slides so she could be at the same height.

Lucy matched our grins. It was nice to see her genuinely smile, she had a real pretty smile. Leaning on his shoulder, she spoke, "How are you, Jack?"

"I think the better question is: are you all right? You both scared me half to death with your little disappearing act in the forest." His tone was humorous, but in his eyes I could see he really cared. I didn't understand it, but Jack is special. I felt it deep in my bones.

"Oh yeah, thank you for saving us. Really, thank you. Sorry it took me so long to say it." I looked at my sister and pointed playfully. "Lucy's too stubborn to admit anything, but she's grateful too."

Lucy frowned, but her tone was light, "Hey, I know when to fold and when to stay. Thank you for saving my sissy, Jack." Gripping Lucy's hand, he gave it a squeeze and put me down. He led us to a bench so we could all sit down to carry out our conversation.

"Young lady, you should not be so knowledgeable of poker terms and you're both welcome. All I will ask in return, is for you think a bit more before running off into the woods on a freezing night." Blood rushed to my cheeks and my face burned with a surely deep blush. When he said it like that, it made us sound quite stupid. Well . . . it _was_ Lucy's idea, so it made _her_ sound stupid, not me.

Always one to defended herself, Lucy argued without any real indignation, "Excuse me, everyone's gotta know about poker terms! And you don't know us real well if you think we'll think before we act."

I figured he'd laugh at that, but he remained serious. It was a little disappointing, actually. We (or at least, I thought Lucy agreed) viewed Jack as a friend, but he wasn't laughing with us. Lucy's face fell. "Look, I know I'm not your father or anything, so there's not too much I can say, but since you didn't think before you acted, you both almost died. And I don't know about you, but I don't think that's anything to laugh over. It's _not_ okay."

This wasn't fun at _all_. From what I'd seen, Jack was fun! He was our friend. Friends were equals, friends didn't scold other friends like they were any better. Fathers did that, maybe, but I wouldn't know. And anyway, Jack _wasn't_ our father. But he wasn't acting much like a friend anymore.

Lucy didn't apologize. She just stared at him while a blank expression masked itself over her face. She was sealing herself off.

Jack lowered his head and sighed, his flop of blond hair shielding his eyes for a brief second. "Well, I'm _not_ your father, so how about we're back to being friends, huh?"

My high spirits were restored and even Lucy cracked a smile at that, and when he reached out his hands for handshakes, we heartily returned the favor. That was when the shrill bell rang through the school campus, ending our fun.

"I better be off. You two try and behave yourselves," he scolded half-heartedly. His smile was sweet and that's when I first noticed his dimples. Lucy had dimples too, but I didn't. My eyes flickered between the two. If I didn't know any better . . .

I shook the thought out of my head. In the creepy way twins do, we spoke simultaneously, "Bye, Jack!" With that and a quick wave, he bounded toward his classroom.

I gripped Lucy's hand and began dragging her towards our new classroom. "We can't be late for our first day with our new teacher. I don't want an excuse for us to return to the devil."

"When did ya become so sassy?" My self-esteem took a hit, and I felt it slowly lowering. "No, no- I love it." My confidence was gladly returned.

One look at the new teacher told me she was as nice as could be. Why couldn't we have gotten her in the first place? It didn't make a lick of sense. She didn't look at Lucy or I like we crawled up from the deepest, darkest pits of hell. It was a welcoming change of pace.

Miss Binney clapped her hands together once as Lucy and I found seats next to each other. "Class, this is Lucille and Alissa Dawson, coming from the other second grade class. Can we make them feel comfortable in our class?"

"Hi Lucy, hi Alice," the entire class chanted as if rehearsed. We knew almost all of them anyway from the playground, so it wasn't too much of a culture shock. Almost immediately, Miss Binney had us pull out our math workbooks and start on a new set of problems. I didn't enjoy math all that much, but Lucy downright hated it. In fact, Lucy didn't think much of reading or writing either, but at least with those subjects she could struggle through it.

A half hour later, we had moved on to our composition books while Miss Binney tried to help Lucy through the problems. "I can't do it!" Lucy cried after another incorrect attempt. "Miss Stevenson's right, I am stupid. None of the numbers are like what you're sayin'. They're all switched around. It makes my head hurt." She drummed her pencil anxiously against her temple as I wrote about my favorite weather- not snow, or anything cold, that was for sure.

Huh, Lucy never said _that_ before, about all the numbers being switched around. Miss Binney looked down at her in a whole new light. "Lucy, what did you say? About the numbers?"

"They're all switched around," she groaned into her folded hands. "They don't look like they're supposed to. Sometimes they don't even look _real_. It's _always_ like that, Miss Stevenson just thought I was lying. The letters are like that when I read, too, but they ain't as bad, I suppose. I'm just _stupid_."

"Lucy, sweetheart," Miss Binney started off kindly, "you aren't stupid. I think you have dyslexia."

All the students, including me, watched in fascination. "Dys- _what_?" Lucy echoed in confusion. I didn't get it either. For a second there, I thought Miss Binney made up the word.

"Dyslexia. It means your brain sees the letters and numbers differently than all the rest of us. Your brain reads them incorrectly, switching them all around, and that's not your fault. I'll inform your mother of my theory when I get a chance." Miss Binney knelt down and placed a hand on each of Lucy's shoulders. "You aren't stupid, Lucy." Patting her once on the head, Miss Binney returned to her desk.

My heart swelled as Lucy smiled a huge grin, looking over at me excitedly. Lucy didn't get _this_ happy over just anything, so this was the real deal. "Alice," she hissed in a voice barely above a whisper, "I ain't stupid. I ain't stupid!"

"No, you ain't," I agreed with as much power I could muster in my voice. It hurt deep inside to think she must've viewed herself as an idiot this entire time, when it was beyond her control. "Miss Grumpy Pants is the stupid one, not you."

Lucy was in a fantastic mood right up until lunchtime. Sure, she still struggled with the reading assigned to us and the composition segments, but at least she knew _why_ now. And she didn't have to feel bad for it anymore, which Miss Grumpy Pants had been making her feel all damn year.

We ate our lunch and played around the playground until the bell rang once more for us to reconvene in the classroom. For once we didn't dread going to class, rather we skipped our way back to the room. Mom was my _hero_ for making this happen. Especially since she had the pleasure of slapping Miss Grumpy Pants in the process.

On our way we stuck our heads into Jack's room and waved to him in an admittedly ridiculous fashion. He laughed and returned the motion before nodding to us to get to class. "Go on, you two, I think you've gotten in enough trouble to last the rest of the month, don't you think?" But his blue eyes twinkled as he spoke.

Lucy and I giggled girlishly as we ducked out of his classroom and raced back to Miss Binney's room.

Sitting down, we continued our lessons, only taking breaks to laugh when Miss Binney made a joke or two. Miss Grumpy Pants didn't understand what humor was. I doubted she knew it existed. It didn't work for beings of pure _evil_.

All was well . . . until it wasn't. "Ah, I've been meaning to deliver this package to Miss Stevenson all day, but I forgot." I stiffened at the sound of the wicked witch's name. "Could one of you . . . Oh, Alice, you're finished with your spelling list, and you know where her room is. Could you be a dear and deliver this package to her for me?"

 _No, no, no, no, and no!_ I stood up very, very reluctantly. It was so hard to deny such a nice teacher, but I desperately wanted to. Never again in my entire life did I want to go back. Especially on the poor note our "relationship" ended.

"I'll go with her!" Lucy suddenly blurted out, jumping up from her seat. Her desire to protect me from any and all harm never extinguished. "My head hurts anyway, from all the messed up letters and all that. So, can I go with her? Please, Miss Binney? We'll be back really quick."

Miss Binney allowed it after a moment's thought, so Lucy and I grudgingly marched down the hallway to the gates of hell. "We could just get rid of it," Lucy suggested, and I cast her a skeptical glance. Her hare-brained ideas . . . "Throw it away, nobody would know any better. We'll just tell Miss Binney . . . that we accidentally broke it or something. I don't know . . . pretty bad plan, huh?"

"Not one of your best." An unlady-like snicker escaped my lips. "Not one of your worst, either."

"Shut your stupid, ginger face." That meant I _won_.

I wanted to wait and collect my breath once we made it to Miss Grumpy Pants's classroom, but Lucy, being the most impatient person I'd ever had the misfortune to meet in all my years, just barged right in. _Well then_.

I half-expected Lucy to start spewing insults left and right, but she actually remained polite. Lucy was a lot of things, but dumb wasn't one of them- most of the time. She knew she had to play it evenly if we wanted to get out of there alive.

Miss Grumpy Pants looked over to us with _venom_ in her eyes, and everybody froze around us. "What are you two _doing_ here?"

That was a real fine way to start off our visit. And we were going to actually be nice. It was a shame she couldn't have the same attitude as a pair of seven-year-old kids. We were just a few steps above her, that's all. More than a few, really. "We have a package for you," Lucy said, almost . . . pleasantly. Believe me, you might be as surprised as I was. "From Miss _Binney_." And there was the backhanded remark. Now was _not_ the time to be passive-aggressive.

"Let me see that," she just about spat. It didn't make much sense. We were doing her a favor by delivering the package, weren't we? So how could she already be so mad at us? Miss Grumpy Pants had _no_ logic at all. "Did you somehow break it already?" She snatched it away from me like she was afraid my skin would somehow burn either the package or her. Now _that_ would be a sight to behold.

"We didn't drop it on the way, if that's what you're asking," Lucy said a little too coolly. I bumped her in the side with my hip, then shook my head at her. _Stay calm, please stay calm._

"Wouldn't put it past you," Miss Grumpy Pants grumbled under her breath, and Lucy rolled her eyes at me while the evil teacher's attention was reasonably distracted.

"I don't think it's very nice to accuse us of that, ma'am. We didn't do anything wrong, the package is all right. I mean, not that you were accusing people . . . I'm sorry, but you _were_ accusing us when we didn't do anything wrong." My face burned bright red, and I regretted attempting to stand up for Lucy. I just needed to stay quiet so we could leave.

She slammed down the package onto her desk with an ear-shattering _thud_. Whatever control she had over her ugly temper evaporated. "You know, I'm so _sick_ of you two! You've been little terrors all year, you with that idiotic toy," I hung onto my stuffed dolphin possessively, "and you, Lucille, with your lack of intelligence and ability to do math, as well as your constant desire to be a smart aleck and be Alissa's watchdog at the same time. If your sister can't handle a little criticism here or there, then she's no use to anybody. Then your mother comes prancing in, like she owns the place," her cheeks flamed darker and darker, "and it's clear why you two are the way you are. Two bastards being raised by a _bitch_."

Any sort of shuffling or whispers around died out after that. An icy trickle creeped up my spine, and I shivered in place. She'd yelled at us, hit Lucy, but never before . . . This was too damn far. The witch could mock us until she was blue in the face, but when she brought _Mom_ into it? She just poked a pair of sleeping bears, and for the love of God, they woke up. "You take that back. Not our mom. _Don't_ talk about her like that. You take that back _right now,"_ I growled through clenched teeth.

Even she must've realized she'd danced over a line, but she didn't back down. "If you can't handle the truth, then you will never be prepared for the real world."

I. Was. Done. And from the looks of it, so was Lucy. Her eyes were a blaze of blue fire and her closed fists were so white that it was akin to a fresh batch of morning snow. "Miss Grumpy Pants, if you wanna see a real bitch, go look in the mirror. Maybe you shouldn't, though." She shrugged; a tense, jerky movement, and my blood ran cold. "You wouldn't wanna get turned into stone."

Miss Grumpy Pants's eyes shot wide open and her grim, bitter smile morphed into a sinister snarl. Grabbing us both by the hair, she laughed a horrible, fake little chirp of a laugh. "You're just as bad as your mother, you little bastard." If it was possible, Lucy stiffened even more. "I guess I'm just gonna have to leave you two to the principle. He'll have a grand time with the two of you. If I'm lucky, you girls might just get kicked out this time."

My scalp was burning from the continuous pull. "Let me go, let me go, let me go!" It hurt so _badly_. I couldn't fight her without losing my hair, so I just allowed her to drag me down the hallway with Lucy beside me yelling bloody murder and attempting to fight her off. Sadly or maybe fortunately, Miss Grumpy Pants's arm was long enough to hold Lucy away from her body.

"Let my sister go, you bitch!" she squealed, still attempting to fight her off like a rabid dog. Now that Miss Grumpy Pants introduced the word "bitch" into the conversation, Lucy wasn't going to be letting it go anytime soon. Miss Grumpy Pants violently wrenched Lucy back and forth as punishment for her foul mouth, but that didn't stop her. "Bitch, bitch, _bitch!_ "

My head tilted awkwardly and painfully to the side, I hobbled alongside the both of them to the office, until she had the slightest bit of decency to plop us down onto two chairs as she stormed into the principal's office. She slammed the door behind her, and _everybody_ heard what she had to say next.

 _Lies, lies, lies!_ The witch spun it so _we_ started the confrontation. She _provoked_ us, insulted our mother! But of _course_ she didn't include _that_ into the confession. Both Lucy and I garnered expressions of distaste from all of the office ladies. But they were stupid and useless anyway, so I did my best to ignore them.

Miss Grumpy Pants burst from the principal's office in a haze of fiery glory. "You two don't know what's in for you." I tried my best not to let her menacing words frighten me, even after she left the office with an indignant huff.

The principal stood just beyond his doorway and . . . there was something different about him. Usually, even if he was mad at us, he was still _mild_ somehow. I'd never seen him so furious before. Never _ever._ And what was that sloshing in his pocket? "Lucille and Alissa Dawson, get your little behinds in here _now_."

The secretary hesitantly rose from her chair. "Mr. Seers, I don't think you're in an appropriate state to deal with them right now-"

He didn't even allow her to finish before he barked, "Quiet, woman. Leave this be. If _any_ of you attempt to stop this in anyway, you're all fired and I'll ensure you won't get a job _anywhere_ else." He wasn't playing around, that was for sure. Lucy and I didn't waste anytime in scurrying past him into his office, but we both winced as he kicked the door closed behind us. Raw terror began working its way through my system. Never before had the principal been so scary. Like he was going to actually _hurt_ us. . . .

He banged his fists down on his mahogany desk so hard, both of us jumped about an inch or two. "This is the _last_ time I will have the two of you in my office," he said lowly and darkly. His breath stank of something strong, but I didn't know what. A lot of adults smelled like that, though. It was something they drank, I reasoned. "I will make _sure_ of it. Obviously, you haven't been learning _anything_ from the punishments I've issued before. You're meant to see Mr. Dawson after school today, but that's off. No need for it. I don't think either of you will be wanting to do much of anything besides crying after your session in here."

Bile climbed its way up my throat, and I suppressed the urge to vomit everywhere because he surely would've only gotten angrier at us. I fumbled for Lucy's hand and she gripped my fingers so tightly, I was certain they'd snap.

He pulled out his dreaded paddle from one of his desk drawers and laid it down on the surface. "Lucille, you're first, since Miss Stevenson has told me your behavior and actions have been worse. I'll give you a lesson you will _remember_."

Lucy was shaking so hard that my entire arm rattled, so on her behalf, I begged with tears beginning to swim in my eyes, "Please, it's not her fault, it's Miss Stevenson who-"

"Stop your sniveling, girl!" I shut my mouth and cowered away from him as he leaned dangerously over his desk. "I've had enough of you, and if you say one more word, then you'll get just as many blows as your sister. Do you understand?" I was too afraid to even move. " _Do you understand?!_ " he bellowed at the top of his lungs. A sting raged across my cheek after he backhanded me across the face. I nodded frantically and cupped my cheek. "Good. Lucille, come here before I make your sister go first."

With that hanging over us, Lucy tip-toed her way over to him, and when she was close enough, he caught her by the upper arm so she couldn't flee. Different from his usual methods, he lifted her up onto one of the chairs, then pushed her stomach-down onto the surface of his desk. That was only meant for the _older_ kids, he only leaned us over the chairs. . . . "Prepare yourself, and stay still."

The smack of the first blow was so forceful, the entire office echoed with its power. My heart shot into my throat as Lucy let out a high-pitched yelp of shock, then _pain_. Undeniable _pain_. Lucy always tried to stay silent and stoic during her paddlings, so if she was already making noise during the first blow, then . . .

The second spank came before anyone had time to process the first, and then the third followed right after, before the blink of an eye. And they only grew harder and harder. Lucy's shrieks increased in volume and desperation as she wiggled around, and by the fifth smack, tears were pooling from her eyes onto the reddish wood of his desk. "I said stay _still!_ " He landed another one and her body ceased movement.

No, no, this wasn't right. Lucy _never_ cried during paddlings- _never_. And the principal _always_ stopped by five or six, but he was still going. It didn't make any sense, he should've been _finished_ by now. But then came the seventh, the eighth, the ninth . . .

By now, Lucy's entire form pulsed with full-blown sobs and whimpers. Gone was any sort of control over her emotions she had left. She wept, she screamed, she hollered, but the thing she didn't do filled me with fierce pride. Not _once_ did she beg for him to stop. Not _once_ did she give him that satisfaction.

Tenth, eleventh, twelfth, _thirteenth_. Lucy wailed and I blubbered along with her. No longer could I stand and watch my sister suffer, no matter how wracked with fear I was. "Stop it, stop it, _you're hurting her!"_

The principal . . . didn't stop. Fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth . . . "STOP IT!" I bellowed through my own tears, my breath coming in quick and rapid gasps. "YOU'RE HURTING HER, STOP IT!"

This wasn't a paddling anymore. He was flat-out _beating_ her. Seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth. I was in a frenzy to help my sister, so I hurriedly scanned the room for any weapon, anything at _all_. Just as the twentieth blow fell upon my poor, vulnerable twin, my eyes found an ugly, tacky vase. _It'll have to do . . ._

Just as he smashed down the twenty-first blow, I threw the vase with all my might at his head, watching in satisfaction as it shattered against his shoulder and knocked him away from Lucy. "GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU BASTARD!"

He turned to me, and never had I seen such pure fury. I couldn't help the squeak that escaped my throat. I felt so _helpless_. Lucy was beyond distraught, still sobbing hysterically into the desk, so I was completely on my own.

"You've done it now, you little bitch." He stalked toward me, crushing glass under his feet. Scrambling for anything I reached down, and clutched a shard of the vase. I held it so tight that blood trickled down my arm. "You think that will help you, huh? I guess my bitch of a wife may appreciate the effort, it would save her the paperwork of divorce." His voice was dripping in bitter resentment. He was so _close_.

"Please," I pleaded as I ran into the wall with my back, "don't hurt me." His snicker was terrifying, he just wanted to hurt someone and it didn't matter who. Looking to Lucy, she was still recovering, steadying her breathing, and attempting to stand. I was on my own.

In a futile last attempt, I charged past him, only to be thrown back into a glass mini-table, breaking the table into a million pieces. Sharp pieces of glass protruded from my leg, causing me to let out a scream of agony. The principal raised the paddle above his head. "You know you deserve this."

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the impact, but . . . it never came. Opening my eyes again, everything was a blur of action in front of me. What I did catch, though, was . . . Lucy jumped in front of me, quicker than my mind could even register, taking the blow of the paddle. Taking the blow _right to the head._

"LUCY, NO!" She toppled down beside me, unconscious and limp. A bubble of crimson gurgled from her head, then a waterfall of it came pouring down her locks of golden hair and neck. But her eyes were closed, and her skin deathly pale. "No, no, no, _no!_ "

Did he . . . _kill_ her? No, she wasn't dead. Lucy couldn't be dead. I tried to reach over to look for a pulse, but my arm was twisted funny and blinding hot pain shot through my elbow, all the way up to my shoulder and fingertips. Darkness beckoned me, and I was ready to accept it, when . . .

"Get away from them, you sick son of a bitch!" A knight in shining armor kicked down the door, wasting no time before tackling the principal to the ground. His flop of blond hair swayed as he straddled the man.

"Jack?" I managed to whisper before I welcomed the approaching darkness.

 **A/N: So, do you hate us a little, or hate us a lot? What did you think about this chapter? Lucy has dyslexia, which is why she has trouble with school, and why Miss Stevenson targeted her especially. Let us know! We can assure you that next chapter will be in Jack's perspective, so there will be even more action. After all, how did he know to save them? And what will happen next? Stay tuned :).**


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